Project Powerpuff
by Malvidrix-No15
Summary: A reimagining of the original Powerpuff Girls history, this 4-part story follows three girls hailing from different parts of the world brought together by a privately funded government project, and how they came to be the protectors of Townsville, CA.
1. Chapter 1

Hey, folks. Good ol' SDS coming at ya with another fic. It's everyone's favorite super-powered trio, the PPGs, this time around! Jeez, it feels like _years_ since I last published a story on this site. ...Wait a second. *checks publish date on last story* ...Oh. I guess it HAS been years. How about that? ...Damn you, educational system!

Oh, well! Enjoy!

**Disclaimer**: The Powerpuff Girls is a trademark of Craig McCracken and Cartoon Network. Any similarities between this and other works submitted to this site is purely coincidental.

* * *

The city of Townsville. September 2010. As the sun rises from over the east horizon, the coastal waves of the Pacific beat lightly against the shore as if to greet it. Clusters of birds could be seen fluttering swiftly toward the north. And the brisk dawn breeze brings with it the anticipation and hope of a new day. An otherwise normal autumn morning.

Just on the outskirts of this welcoming California metropolis, in a calm suburban neighborhood, we zoom in on a certain two-story household that seemed to stand out amongst the rest. Its walls were coated in simple white, and the front door a deep shade of red. At the foot of the stoop lay a zigzagging path of marble leading to the sidewalk. A modest layer of grass covered the ground near and around this path. An otherwise standard Townsville resiffdence.

A light-blue mailbox hung delicately by the doorbell. The black-silver lettering adorning it read "Utonium".

Inside this household, a sweet, sugary aroma filled the air. In the kitchen, a tall fair-skinned man, appearing to be in his late 30s, stands over the stove preparing a breakfast for four. He had a rather content air about him.

As if drawn in by the pleasing scent, the man is shortly joined by two teenage girls – one 15, the other 14. The older of the two had long scarlet hair and eyes that glimmered an intense hue of ruby, while the younger one's hair – fastened into pigtails with thin, short stretches of ribbon – was a creamy tint of yellow. Her eyes twinkled with the color of azure. Their overall appearance suggested they'd just come from a good night of sleep. As she adjusts to the light, the red-haired girl says aloud in a soft tone, "Morning, Professor."

Now noticing the two as they enter, the tall man at the stove – Professor John Utonium – turns to greet them. "Oh, hey. Morning, Rose, Aqua. You sleep well?"

Rubbing her eyes cutely, the blond girl – Aqua – responds, "Uh-huh. …Mmm. Something smells good."

Utonium's smile widens by a couple inches. "I bet it does. I'm making your favorite: blueberry pancakes."

"Alright! Extra blueberries on mine!"

"You got it. Go get cleaned up for school, and they'll be ready when you come back down."

"'Kay!" Turning back around, the childlike Aqua departs for the second floor of the house.

As he whips up another batch of pancake batter, Utonium addresses the redheaded Rose. "So, where's Midori? Still sleeping?"

"Yup.", replies the blunt Rose with a shrug. "You know li'l 'BC'. Alarm clocks don't affect her in the least."

Elsewhere in the house, Aqua attempts to stir her third 'sister' from her sound slumber. "C'mon, Midori, get up! You're gonna make us late again!"

"…Just…five more minutes…", a voice groans from underneath the sheets.

"Ugh! It's always 'five minutes' with you!" Almost ready to admit defeat, the crafty 14-year-old blonde readies one last-ditch effort: she leans back and takes in a deep breath…

"!" Having heard this from under the covers, the sister named Midori swiftly shoves the covers off and sits up in her bed, immediately proceeding to shield her ears. "Alright, alright! I'm up! No screaming, please! My ears are still ringing from yesterday!"

Chalk up another win for little Aqua. With yet another victory under her belt, she exits the room and makes for the bathroom down the hallway.

As she leaves, Midori scratches her scalp and lets out a mighty yawn. The eldest out of herself, Aqua, and Rose, this girl of 16 had black short-length hair and eyes as lustrous as emeralds. Of course, having just emerged from deep sleep, said luster was a tad pale. "I hate it when she lords that power over me…", Midori gripes, as this apparently wasn't the first time she was almost forcibly awoken by one of young Aqua's patented 'sonic screams'.

With a single backward arm movement, Midori pulls the sheets off and swings her legs over the side of the bed. As her bare feet come into contact with the carpeted floor, she pauses briefly. It was soft and light, like sheep's wool. The girl had experienced numerous sensations such as this one during the few months that passed, but she'd always taken them as blessings in disguise. She slowly rises to her feet and wiggles her toes, allowing carpet lint to gather between them. Then, with a quick 360-degree spin, she extends her right leg out with a vigorous kick. "…Heh."

…Later on, with a harmonized "Later, Professor!", Rose, Aqua, and Midori take leave of their home, now fully dressed in color-coded school apparel. The three wave farewell to their father figure as they head out the front door and down the marble path to the sidewalk.

Turning back to her 'sisters', Rose sports an excited grin. "Ready, girls?" Aqua and Midori reply simply with a nod. "Alright. Let's do it."

Facing forward, the girls stand side-by-side and gaze up at the clear blue sky above. A calm wind encircles their feet, and before long…

…they begin to hover.

As if carried by the wind itself, the three slowly lift off the ground and start to ascend. Then, once they were about 20 feet up, they really take off and shoot up into the sky.

"Bye, girls!", Utonium calls out from the front stoop of the house. "Have a good day!" As he watches them fly off, the simple-minded professor smiles contentedly. In the time he spent in the girls' company, he'd come to treat them and love them like they were his own daughters. He was happy with the life he'd settled into here in Townsville. And he would do _anything_ to keep it that way.

_**Project Powerpuff**_

_Part 1_

The joy and thrill of flight was something Rose, Aqua, and Midori took great pleasure in every time they set out from their home. Whether it was people-watching from thousands of feet up, soaring aimlessly around and between towering skyscrapers, or simply letting the wind blow through one's hair, there was something for all to enjoy.

Of course, not all are so fortunate to be gifted with the ability of self-propelled flight.

Since their arrival in Townsville nearly half a year prior, the extraordinarily gifted trio had done much in their efforts to fit in, especially in an environment they were unaccustomed to. At first, they'd also done well to keep their amazing abilities hidden from the Townsville populace in order to avoid mass panic (as well as getting their asses sued in any ensuing legal procedures for collateral damage incurred upon city property). But just a little over a month after they'd settled in, a hostage situation had arisen at the First National Bank. And when little could be done to prevent it from escalating, the girls – with their newly developed powers – intervened. Lives were saved, the culprits detained and taken into custody, and the girls were branded as heroes.

And so the story went that a trio of teenage girls who seemed to appear from out of nowhere took on the role of protecting Townsville and its citizens from danger. A children's storybook fantasy made real.

As the three 'sisters' soar through the skies of downtown Townsville, they bob and weave about the tall buildings on their way to Townsville High. As the morning sun beams through the clouds overhead, shining its brilliance upon the entirety of the city, Aqua brings her hand up to shield her delicate eyes. "Wow. Sunny today, huh?", the young blonde comments.

"Jeez. You're telling me.", the scarlet-haired Rose retorts, the sheer intensity of the sunlight now dawning on her as well. "You doing okay, Aqua?"

"Yeah, it's fine. Actually…I kinda like it."

"Heh. I know what you mean. There's just something about this city. The sights, the sounds, the people… I can't help but love everything about this place. Don't you think so, Midori?"

No reply from the eldest 'sister'.

"…Midori?"

Again, no reply.

"Hey, Midori, are you listening to-?" Turning her head, Rose discovers her black-haired green-eyed friend blasting rock music into her ears via iPod and headphones. Surprisingly, this hadn't come to young Rose as much of a shock. "…Of course."

Midori, having been head-banging her way through over half the city, was well lost in her tiny world of J-rock. It's only after Rose tugs at her left headphone and lets it smack her in the ear that she snaps back to reality. "Ow!" Proceeding to remove her ear coverings, she turns to Rose with a look of displeasure. "What the hell, 'Red'?"

"Are you enjoying yourself on 'Planet Buttercup'?", inquires Rose with a raised eyebrow.

"Pssssh. It's a lot better than 'Blossom-topia', that's for sure."

"Funny. With all the music you listen to and sports you watch, it's no wonder your grades are so bad."

"Oh, please! Like _you're_ 'Miss Perfect'! You can't see another person doing something and not stop them to point out every little thing they're doing wrong!"

"That's ridiculous!"

"…You dumped a guy for pronouncing 'nuclear' as 'nu-cu-lar'…"

"HE WAS AN IDIOT! ANYONE COULD SEE THAT!"

Finally opting to speak out, Aqua joins in with, "Uh, guys?"

"What?"

"…We just passed the school."

"…" Glancing to the rear, Rose and Midori come to the realization that they had indeed flown completely over Townsville High. Embarrassed by this fact, they exclaim in unison a frustrated "Oh, son of a…!"

With a quick double-back, the girls move in on the school at last and gently touch down near its front steps, where they're greeted and waved to by a number of their fellow students. "Ah… Our adoring public…", comments Rose, eagerly accepting her peers' cheers.

With her arms folded over her chest, Midori herself remarks, "Careful there, 'Rosie', or else your head won't fit your hat…"

Aqua, somewhat amused by Rose and Midori's back-and-forth, lets out a lilting giggle. But she stops short of a full laugh when she sees a particular male student walking up toward the school. "Uh-oh.", Aqua starts teasingly. "Don't look now, Midori, but your _boy toy_ is here."

"Huh?" Unaware of whom Aqua was referring to, Midori glances across the front of the campus until her pretty green orbs land on a tall boy with coffee-brown hair and slightly toned muscles. Those familiar with the exploits of Townsville High's football team would no doubt recognize the lad as its star running back, Mitchell Mitchelson. "Oh! Mitch!" Almost impulsively, Midori's feet start carrying her in Mitch's direction.

"…Aqua, do you even know what 'boy toy' means?"

With a shrug, the little blonde simply answers, "I heard it on BET."

As Midori comes into view, Mitch acknowledges her with a grin and a wave. "Oh, hey, Midori. How's it goin'?"

"Oh, you know – SportsCenter, too much homework, sisters bugging the crap out of me. Same as always."

"Hahaha. I hear that. So, you know that game we got against Anaheim this Friday, right? We win this one, and we're goin' to the championships, y'know? It'd be great if you could come."

"Wouldn't miss it for the world. I'm your 'lucky charm', remember?"

As if it was something Mitch could ignore. Midori had gone to every one of Mitch's last seven games. And at each of those games, Mitch had scored the winning touchdown. Since the fifth, he'd begun to call Midori his 'lucky charm'. "Heh. That's for sure. Well, I should get to class before 'Teach' chews me out again. Catch ya later, Midori."

"Sure, Mitch. Later." Midori's lips retain the shape of a smile as Mitch walks off. Once he was out of her line of sight, she turns around to find Rose and Aqua standing right behind her. Their brows were narrowed, and their grins stretched from cheek to cheek. "…Shut up."

"We didn't even say anything yet!"

But the girls' chance encounters for the day wouldn't end there. In mere moments, a limousine coated in elegant white pulls up in front of the school. And this indicated the arrival of only _one_ person. The first to step out of the car was the driver: a lean middle-aged man dressed entirely in black. Coming around to the other side of the vehicle, he opens the door on the rear passenger side. At that moment, another person steps out of the limo: an attractive female student wearing a yellow variation of the school's official attire and whose curly hair gleamed a vibrant orange.

While the rest of the student crowd seemed to be in awe at her entrance, Rose could feel her stomach turn at the sight of the vehicle. "Oh, great, it's _her_…"

Arguably Townsville High's most popular student and certainly its wealthiest, now introducing Tabitha Morbucks. Speaking aloud in a bit of a pretentious manner, the Morbucks girl addresses her chauffeur. "I expect to be picked up at precisely 3pm, Russell. Not a minute later."

"Of course, Miss Tabitha.", the dapper Russell replies with a bow.

In the moments that followed, Russell and the limo drive off, and Tabitha makes her way toward the school. Boys and girls alike were always struck speechless by her beauty and the manner in which she presented herself.

Her innocent nature getting the better of her, the sapphire-eyed Aqua motions a wave and calls out, "Morning, Tabitha!"

"What's the matter, 'Tabby'?", Rose enters with. "The bus too good for you?"

Upon hearing that nickname, Tabitha stops in her tracks. The very utterance of it was enough to make the ginger-haired gal twist her 'perfect face' in irritation. She turns her head to make eye contact with the three and rejoinders, "…Oh. It's you three. I thought something reeked of sweat stains. Shouldn't you be out saving a little kid who's stuck in a well or something?"

It was now Midori's turn to pop a vein. Hers and her friends' heroic deeds around the city being reduced to Lassie clichés? Not cool. "How would YOU like to be stuck in a well, you snobby little…?"

"Whoa there, 'Green'.", says Rose, jumping in to tug at Midori's reins. "Take a breath, huh?"

"Tch!"

"Yes, that's a good girl.", Tabitha continues to mock. "You don't wanna stretch out your _leash_."

"Keep it up, 'Princess', and see what happens! I'll drop you off the freakin' roof! Just try me!"

It was no secret that Tabitha Morbucks enjoyed getting under Midori's skin. And it was so easy to. The girls had only been attending Townsville High for a few weeks, but it took no time at all for them to make themselves known across campus. Up until that point, Tabitha was the center of attention, so one could imagine how threatened she felt when they arrived.

Speaking out once more, Aqua addresses the high and mighty Morbucks girl with a query. "Hey, Tabitha, I was wondering. You can afford to go to any school in the world you want, can't you? Why go here?"

"…Hmph." Before answering, Tabitha flicks a lock of hair out of her face. "Well, you know me. I'm a girl of the people. It just wouldn't be fair to deny the good students of Townsville High the chance to associate with me. It gives 'em something to shoot for! Hahaha!"

"…Can I kick her ass now…?"

"Let it go."

Just then, a loud ringing sound echoes across and outside the school. The 8:05 bell. And nothing ends a heated conversation better than realizing you're late for 1st Period. Exhaling a sigh, Aqua groans, "Perfect… Late _again_…"

"Oh, relax.", says Rose dismissively. "Miss Keane's a total teddy bear. She'd look the other way if we came into class wasted."

Sharing in the redhead's joke with a laugh, Aqua and Midori follow close behind her through the double doors of the school, Tabitha and a handful of other students soon after.

But while the girls and their schoolmates enjoy another day of learning, an entirely different kind of entertainment was about to take place elsewhere in the city. Outside the First National Bank of Townsville, a scheme was being hatched.

"Alright, boys, gimme some good news. Billy?"

"Took out the guards in the back."

"Good man. Snake?"

"Disabled the security cameras inside."

"Solid. You got the stuff, Artie?"

"Revolvers, semi-automatics – you name it, I got it."

"They oughta make stuffed dolls of you, ya little piece of awesome. Now…for the final touch." Reaching behind him, the apparent ringleader of this group takes out a can of lime green paint. One by one, the members of the group would coat their faces with the pigment, after which they arm themselves with handguns. "Alright, boys… Let's make the magic happen."

The doors of the First National Bank are forcefully kicked in, the face-painted group marches inside, and patrons and employees jump in a fright. "Good morning, Townsville!", cries out the leader of the pack. "This is Ace of the Gangreen Gang with your wake-up call!"

Elsewhere, at Townsville City Hall, a third type of entertainment was taking place. …Or rather, _lack_ of entertainment. In his velvet-carpeted office, in his cushiony swivel chair, mayor of Townsville Bernard Mayer signatures his way through stacks of legal documents uninterestedly, as has been the greater part of his workday for the past week or so. Looking up at his assistant to his left, the somewhat portly authority figure asks with a bit of a whine, "Is that the last one?"

Standing by the mayor's desk with an armful of papers pressed against her bosom, able assistant Sara Bellum straightens her spine, hardens her stance, and meets his eye with a stern gaze. "I'm afraid you still have a few more documents left to sign, Mr. Mayer.", she replies, grasping the papers with one hand and tidying her strawberry-blond hair with the other. "Besides, I warned you about falling behind in your work. Maybe if you spent more time doing your job instead of practicing your golf swing…"

"Hey, just you wait! One of these days, I'm gonna kick Schwarzenegger's ass all over the putting green!"

"Uh-huh…"

Just then, with no fair warning, in bursts another member of the city hall staff in a fright. "Mr. Mayer! Ms. Bellum!"

"W-What is it? Is there a problem?"

"Turn on the TV, quick! Channel 4! Something's happening at First National!"

Hastily handling a nearby remote control, Sara powers on a television set located at the west wall of the office and tunes it to channel 4. A breaking news report was covering the robbery taking place at the bank.

"_-reportedly began some 15 minutes ago. TVPD officers on scene are receiving heavy gunfire, and are unable to approach. Suspects have been confirmed to be the notorious Gangreen Gang, who, according to police reports, have been involved in a considerable amount of criminal activity throughout the state of California, including but not limited to public vandalism, grand larceny auto, and illegal possession of narcotics. The situation appears dire, as the suspects are heavily armed and appear to be volatile-"_

The news report goes on from there. "This looks bad…", the anxious Sara Bellum says silently to herself before turning to face the mayor. "…Mr. Mayer…"

Looking back at her, the Townsville mayor gestures a nod, as if knowing full well what needed to be done. "Right…!" Facing forward at his desk, he glances at a small panel at the far right. It consisted of merely a red button and a glass pane covering it. The mayor flips the pane open and prepares to press the red button underneath, taking a brief pause before doing so. His expression wasn't that of anxiety like Ms. Bellum's, but of excitement. With each press of this button, the man felt as though he were about to prevent a nuclear holocaust. "…Hahaha! I love this part!"

As the mayor presses his index finger on the button, an EM signal is transmitted across the city, from City Hall to Central Park, from the diner district to the Townsville Shopping Center, until it reaches the high school.

"…If you recall, in chapter 3…", continues the lovely Ms. Allison Keane, the girls' homeroom and English teacher, with her lesson plan. "…the narrator had this deep-rooted emotional and mental turmoil inside him brought about by his wife's murder. But by chapter 5, it looks like he's gotten over some of it. Now, in what way do you think the narrator's grown - not only as a character in the book, but as a-?"

Cut off mid-sentence, Ms. Keane finds her lesson abruptly interrupted by a flashing red light on the wall and an intermittent buzzing sound not unlike a fire alarm. Fans of this spectacle refer to it as the 'Powerpuff Siren'.

And it, like Tabitha Morbucks' limousine arrival, meant only one thing. As the siren sounds, all eyes in the classroom fall upon Rose, Aqua, and Midori. The three glimpse uneasily at each other before looking ahead toward their teacher at the front of the room. "Um… Ms. Keane…?", Rose awkwardly utters.

The teacher, with an understanding smile, holds her hand out palm-forward as if to say 'say no more'. "…Just go.", says Keane to the trio. "The city needs you more than the class does."

Getting the go-ahead from their dearest teacher, Rose, Aqua, and Midori rise from their desks, head out the door, and make for the roof of the school. Once there, Rose steps off to the side and finds another blinking 'Siren' light. Reaching up, she presses her hand against the light bulb's glass casing. This act not only shuts the alarm off, but also brings up a transparent display map of Townsville. A tiny blip on the radar points to… "…The bank! Let's move!"

Without a moment's hesitation, the three take off into the eastern sky. Practically every student that was sitting at that end of the school was sticking his or her head out the window to catch a glimpse of the girls' vapor trails. They shout various cheers of good luck to them, such as "go get 'em!" and "kick some ass!" With the support of their peers at their back, the super-powered trio soars proudly and confidently.

Meanwhile, the situation at the bank has evidently made little progress. Of the five members of the Gangreen Gang, Ace and the one named Snake continue pelting the Townsville police force with an endless barrage of bullets. "Tch! Persistent sons of bitches, aren't they?", Ace gripes, his lips curled into a scowl. "If this was Los Angeles, they'd have hit us with the tear gas by now…! Hey, Artie! Find a way outta here yet?"

Artie pops into the room at that moment, as he'd been searching for an escape route around the cops' barricade. "_No bueno_, Ace! They've got us completely surrounded!"

"Argh! Alright then!" Taking a brief pause from shooting, Ace reloads his semi-automatic and turns to the hostages. "Maybe they'll change their tune…if we waste one of these losers."

Hearing this, fear begins to brew among the civilians and bank employees being held captive.

"Hey, Mumbles.", Ace calls out, addressing the fifth Gangreen. "Why don't you do the honors?"

Jumping at this chance, the one dubbed 'Mumbles' looks down at the cowering hostages with an expression of disturbed amusement. With revolver in hand, he cocks the hammer and presses the end of the barrel against the temple of a whimpering bank clerk. On the verge of tears, she shuts her eyes and hugs her legs tightly…

"…Hey, Ace…", Snake suddenly interjects. "…You hear something?"

"…" As Ace focuses his ear to the front door, a strange sound seeps through from the other side. The crackling sound of freezing ice. "…The hell…?" Turning their eye to the door now, Ace and Snake notice it starting to freeze over. A sight that compels them to back away slowly. "Ice…? What the hell…?"

Just then, an immense force from the outside drives the doors in, breaking them off their hinges. They fall over onto the tiled floor with a booming thud. On the other side, the Gangreens would be able to make out three slender human-shaped silhouettes. The silhouette in the center utters a comical "Knock, knock."

In a panic, Mumbles turns his fully-cocked handgun on the silhouettes and fires.

The silhouette at the left almost appears to catch the bullet in its hand. A soft voice belonging to the silhouette speaks out, "Careful. You could put someone's eye out with that thing."

Gritting his teeth in anger and impatience, Ace aims his semi at the three unknowns. "Okay, who the hell are you? You with the cops?"

Stepping forward into the well-lit bank lobby, Rose, Aqua, and Midori reveal themselves to the gun-toting gang. "…You could say that.", Rose answers back.

Snake had to blink a couple of times to make sure his eyes were working properly. But it was no mirage or trick of the light. He and the gang were being stared down by three teenage girls. "This is a joke, right? You're just kids! What kinda stunt are the cops tryin' to pull?"

"Trust me, this ain't no episode of 'Punk'd'. Ashton Kutcher ain't gonna pop out of the cash drawer and laugh at your sorry asses. This is the real deal. Now, you're gonna let these people go and turn yourselves over to the police…or else."

"'Or else'? Or else what? Who's holding the guns here? If I were you, little ladies, I'd leave the same way I came in and tell the cops to back off! Or every innocent mouth in this room eats a lead potpie!"

"…They always wanna do it the hard way…" Slowly moving her feet, Rose steps forward, the silence blanketing the room causing her footsteps to echo like the ticking of a clock.

Raising his firearm, Ace fires several warning shots at Rose's feet, compelling her to stop in her tracks. "Yeah… That's what I thought… So unless you like those pretty feet you're wearing, redhead… Get to steppin'."

"…" Unfortunately for the Gangreen leader, 'steppin'' was the furthest thing from Rose's mind. Curling her lips into a smirk, she exhales a meager… "Heh." …and vanishes before Ace's eyes.

"W-What the hell? Where'd she go?"

"…Guess who."

Suddenly feeling a tap at his shoulder, Ace spins his upper body around far enough to see Rose standing at his rear. "!"

"…Boo." Having had her fun, Rose spins a full 360 degrees and lays into Ace with a fierce heel kick to the head.

Ace falls over onto the floor like a dead weight, his sunglasses shattered beyond recognition.

With Ace out of commission, Snake immediately takes charge, addressing Billy and Mumbles. "What are you waiting for, you idiots? Take 'em out!"

Pulling out a second revolver, Mumbles fires uncontrollably at Aqua. Using only her hands, the blond girl catches each bullet effortlessly as they come within range. Before long, the mute Gangreen uses up all his ammo; the closest he'd gotten to harming the girl was grazing her palms with his gunshots.

As Aqua drops the empty shell casings onto the floor, she looks up at Mumbles with a cute smile. "Is that all?"

"…" Baring his rotten teeth, Mumbles bum-rushes Aqua and jumps her in an act of desperation.

"Aah! Get away from me, you weirdo!" Her feminine impulses kicking in, Aqua swats Mumbles away with a mighty slap.

This slap sends the Gangreen flying across the lobby of the bank and through a window.

The sight of Mumbles' cavity-ridden gums would stay with the blond girl for some time. "Ugh… Nasty…"

Cracking his knuckles, the Gangreen giant Billy, in all his big boned glory, practically shakes the earth as he advances toward Midori. "Easy, little lady.", he cautions. "I don't wanna put the hurt on ya. Hehehe."

"Oh, don't worry. …You won't.", Midori boasts, assuming a defensive stance.

The behemoth swings at the black-haired girl with a left jab, which she dodges with ease. Billy then tries a right hook; again, Midori evades without any difficulty. Of course, due to the man's stoutness, she would have easily evaded his blows even without superpowers. "Grah!" Driven to frustration by the girl's speed, Billy clasps his hands together and brings them down upon Midori.

Midori catches the hammer with her forearms and holds her ground, but was caught a little off-guard by Billy's weight. "W-Whoa! Someone's been hitting the Doritos nonstop, haven't they? Okay… _My_ turn!" Pushing her arms up, Midori shakes Billy off and knocks him off-balance. Upon accomplishing this, she lays into his stomach with a small handful of jabs. Unfortunately, his body fat absorbs most of the power behind her strikes. "…Didn't see that coming…"

"There!" With Midori's guard dropped, Billy swoops in…and belts Midori one across the face. "Hah! Gotcha!"

"…"

"…Eh?"

As she recovers from the hit, Midori spits the blood from her mouth and rubs where Billy struck her with her hand. Then, facing forward, she gives him a bone-chilling glare. "…You're gonna wish you hadn't done that."

"Why, you…!" Unfazed by the diminutive girl's cheekiness, Billy reels forward once again and attempts to strike at Midori a second time. This time, however, she catches Billy's fist in mid-flight… "!"…and, with her free hand, jabs harshly at his elbow, knocking several bones out of place. "Aah!"

While the paint-smeared brute staggers from the agonizing pain, Midori takes a firm hold of his arm and flips him over her shoulder onto the ground, generating a small-scale tremor in doing so. "Whew… Do me a favor, 'Fluffy', and go on a freakin' diet…"

Three Gangreens down, two to go. Little Artie stays in hiding, and Snake stands before the girls with wobbly knees. "W-Who… Who the hell are you freaks?"

With a giggle, Aqua remarks, "You guys haven't been in Townsville for very long, have you?"

Rose takes a step forward, and Snake takes a step back in tow. "S-Stay back!" With firearm in hand, the last Gangreen standing pulls the trigger with intent to turn the girls into Swiss cheese. Click. Click. Empty. "I-I'm all out?"

Planting her hands on her hips, Rose decides to humor Snake's outburst with an answer. "Well, since you asked nicely…", she starts. "I'm Rose. These are my sisters Aqua and Midori. And…I guess you can call us…the _Powerpuff Girls_."

"P-Power…what?"

"Stupid name, right?", Midori butts in, crossing her arms over her chest. "Some idiot at school made a fansite on us, and we got stuck with it."

"Well, I think it's cute!"

"Shut up, Aqua."

Despite the joke that the girls were turning the situation into, Snake couldn't deny the fact that the three teens standing before him could break his arms if he tried to resist and break his legs if he tried to run. Coming to terms with this… "…Ugh." …he passes out.

"…Damn. He _actually_ fainted. What a wimp."

The danger now passed, the hostages inside the bank are released from captivity, the Gangreen Gang placed under arrest, and crowds of spectators cheer the Powerpuffs' name. As the hoodlum group is shoved into patrol cars, the chief of police meets with the girls to convey his thanks. "A job well done as usual, you three. The city of Townsville owes you a great debt of gratitude."

"No prob.", replies Rose. "We're just glad no one was hurt in all this."

"…Though if we're talking gratitude, how's about hooking me up with an Xbox- OW!" The interrupted Midori bares her fangs at Aqua as she rubs where she'd been punched.

Ignoring the green one's bout of self-gratification, the police chief motions a salute to the three. "Keep up the good work. We'll be counting on you as always."

"Of course."

"Hey, 'Red'!", a voice suddenly calls out from the patrol car.

"Hmm?" Turning to the vehicle's open window, Rose finds herself being beckoned by Ace of the Gangreen Gang. "…What do you want?"

With a wide grin staining his face, he says, "Looks like I'll be sticking around town for a while. After I make bail, why don't you and I get together sometime? We'll paint the town…_green_. Hehehe."

Rose felt sick to her stomach again. "…Sorry. I don't date creeps in face paint."

Shot down, Ace leans back in his car seat with an 'oh-well-I-tried' look. His disturbingly wide grin doesn't leave his face.

Having had their fill of 'saving the day before bedtime', Rose, Aqua, and Midori take off into the sky, glancing back momentarily to watch the Gangreen Gang be shipped off to the police station. "Man, Townsville's got room for all types, doesn't it?", Aqua observes.

"Hey, at least all the monsters and giant robots stay in Japan!"

As they depart for school, the three share in their 'middle sister's' joke with hearty laughter.

…Later on, as the day nears 11:00pm and nighttime completely settles in, we join the Powerpuff Girls at their home on the outskirts of Townsville. By this time, the girls had changed into their evening attire and retired to their bedroom on the second floor. Large enough to accommodate all three girls, it was furnished with three beds, three personalized chests of drawers, two computer terminals, a 60-inch flat-screen HDTV with entertainment center (Midori's favorite), and a walk-in closet. This could surely be considered one of the better-off households on this block.

Lounging before a vanity mirror, Aqua runs a brush through her whitish-golden shoulder-length hair. Her favorite ribbons hang lazily off the countertop of her dresser.

Lying face down on her pink bedspread, Rose reads through an issue of a fashion magazine. Her lower legs swing back and forth rhythmically as red polish dries on her toenails.

And at the other end of the room, Midori too lies face down on her bed. Her eyes aren't fixated on any form of literature, but rather the television screen. A bit by one of her favorite comedians was playing on HBO. "What's the deal with the 'City of Townsville', huh?", says the comic. "Is it a city or a town? What, the founding fathers couldn't make up their minds or something? Can you imagine what deciding on the city's name must've been like? 'Okay, all in favor of 'City of Townsville', say 'I'. …Alright, all in favor of 'Town of Citysville', say 'I'. …Okay, 'City of Townsville' it is. Next order of business: What do we do with all the dead Injuns?'"

Midori lets out a good-humored laugh at the comic's material.

Apparently not amused by the act, Rose and Aqua muffle the word "Hack!" under fake spells of coughing.

"I heard that!"

Moments later, their adoptive father John Utonium enters the sizable bedroom and calls on the girls' attention. "Alright, girls. 11 o'clock. Time for bed."

Not ones to disobey, Aqua sets her hairbrush down, Rose puts her magazine away, and Midori (reluctantly) turns the TV off. The youngest Powerpuff climbs into bed, and all three pull the covers over themselves.

With a nod, Utonium moves his hand toward the light switch.

But mere seconds before the lights go out, Aqua calls out tenderly, "Hey, Professor?"

"Yes, Aqua?"

"Could you…tell us that story again?"

"Aren't you a little old for bedtime stories?"

"Please? Just one more time?"

Shuffling out from underneath the sheets to sit upright, Rose speaks out. "I wanna hear it too."

And Midori follows moments after. "Yeah, same here."

The middle-aged scientist was backed into a corner. How could he say no? "…Heh. Ganging up on me now, eh? Should've seen that coming." Defeated, he turns out the lights, switches on the desk lamp at one of the two computer terminals, and seats himself in a nearby chair. Finally, he leans back against the backrest and crosses his legs. "Let's see… How'd it go again? …Ah, yes. Once upon a time…"

…Nine months ago…

Hot spring winds blow over the rocky terrain of the Mojave Desert. Heavy sands and dust clouds press brutally against the Yucca trees. Somewhere in this virtually barren wasteland, not too far from Death Valley, there stood a great building. A naturally out-of-place construct, but perfectly concealed from inquisitive eyes by tall cliffs and sandstorms.

Inside this odd structure, a meeting of minds was taking place. A row of scientists stood shoulder to shoulder. There was a wide spectrum of scientific intellect among the group, from biochemists to radiobiologists to nuclear physicists. And to the far left of the row stood none other than John Utonium.

A new face soon enters the room to greet the team. He had short clean-cut brown hair, wore thin-rimmed glasses, and presented himself with poise and professionalism. "Hello, and welcome.", the man greets clearly and eloquently. "First and foremost, I would like to express my thanks to all of you for coming out all this way. My name is Johann Kepler, and I represent the Project X Scientific Administration and Committee. …You are the best and brightest the scientific world has to offer. It is only because of your exceptional knowledge and skill in your respective fields that you've been chosen to observe firsthand as we make history. Blindness, deafness, muteness, cerebral palsy, mental illness – all these and others will be made a thing of the past thanks to the breakthroughs in science and medicine that we've made here." Reaching into an inner pocket of his lab coat, the man named Kepler pulls out a small remote. When he presses the button on it…

…the massive wall of steel behind him opens up. On the other side of the wall, a group of stasis pods is revealed. Each pod was filled with a strange, purple translucent fluid and housed a person in partially suspended animation. No doubt the subjects for the experiments they were about to conduct here. The subjects were female, and appeared to be no older than high school students.

In the first pod at the left, Rose Walker slept.

In the center pod lay Aqua Fontana.

And the pod at the right housed Midori Kondo.

Addressing the row of scientists again, Kepler emphatically proclaims, "My fellow scientists… I welcome you…to _**Project X**_!"


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer**: The Powerpuff Girls is a trademark of Craig McCracken and Cartoon Network. Any similarities between this and other works submitted to this site is purely coincidental.

* * *

Inside the large metallic construct nestled in the Mojave Desert's shroud of sand and dirt, over a dozen of the world's top-leading scientists had gathered to take part in the top secret Project X.

The team of intellects is led on a short tour through the "Facility" by project director Johann Kepler. He could barely contain his own excitement. "This is history in the making, gentlemen.", Kepler starts, addressing the group. "With the accomplishments made here, we will revolutionize modern medicine forever. Ah… But, of course, none of this would even be possible if not for the heartbreaking generosity of our better man for providing us with such suitable candidates for this endeavor. Let's meet our 'patients' firsthand, shall we?"

Off to the side, a scientist is seen standing near the stasis pods holding Rose, Aqua, and Midori. He speaks aloud, reading off of a clipboard in his left hand. "Subject 'X-2'. Name: Rose Walker. Born June 18, 1996 in New York City. She has an aneurysm on her anterior cerebral artery."f

"In other words, a time bomb waiting to explode.", Kepler adds.

"Subject 'X-3' - Aqua Fontana. Born December 3, 1996 in Venice, Italy. Partial blindness, and slowly worsening."

"A shame. And I hear Venice is breathtaking this time of year."

"Subject 'X-4' - Midori Kondo. Born March 10, 1995 in Osaka, Japan. Paraplegic since birth."

"And, as I understand it, an avid sports fan. The poor girl."

As the tour continues, the group happens upon a fourth stasis pod, isolated from the other three. Inside slept what seemed to be a common chimpanzee. "And this one?", observes one of the scientists in the group.

Turning to face the pod, Kepler looks at the ape with odd fondness. "Ahhh… As if I could ignore our first 'patient' here. A more than charitable donation from the Las Vegas Zoo. …What was it again, Sanders?"

Looking back at his clipboard, the scientist Sanders replies, "Uh, Down syndrome, Dr. Kepler."

"Yes, that's the one. A crippling thing, that. But we'll soon fix it…won't we, Jojo?"

Having fallen a bit behind the group, John Utonium's eyes were fixated on the girls Rose, Aqua, and Midori, as he'd found himself magnetically drawn to them for some reason. 'They're…just children…', he thinks. 'Not even grown up and in college yet… And we're gonna-'

"Hey, Utonium."

"!" His train of thought derailed, Utonium turns to the voice that had called out to him, and discovers fellow scientist and college friend Richard Hardly. "Oh. It's just you, Dick. For a second there, I thought I was in physics class again."

"Heh, yeah. That spacing out thing you do's still going strong, huh? C'mon, we don't wanna get left behind, or Kepler'll eat us out."

"Be right there." With one last look over his shoulder, Utonium gazes up at the slumbering girls, wondering if they would truly benefit from the life that awaited them at Project X's completion. He begins the trek further into the Facility, the clack-clack of his polished lab shoes echoing in the silence.

Further inside the elaborate structure, the group comes to a narrow corridor with a glass pane at one side. The protective glass served as a window into a cooling chamber housing a multitude of vials, each containing a strange, black liquid. As he presses his fingertips to the glass, Kepler speaks. "And lastly, we come to the heart and soul of Project X, our pride and joy, for which we owe the project's very culmination. The product of years' worth of research in stem cells and nuclear engineering. I call it…'Element X'.

"Nuclear engineering…?", Utonium reaffirms, as disheartening thoughts brew over. "Element X is radioactive…?"

Having expected such a reaction, Kepler asserts, "I assure you, Dr. Utonium, Element X is 100% safe. We'd conducted dozens of safety tests and inspections prior to your arrival here. The only way Element X would be harmful to one's health is if large amounts of it were to enter the bloodstream and without a stabilizing agent. We've taken all of the necessary precautions. …So relax, huh? Stress is bad for someone your age."

A brief laugh is shared amongst the group of scientists, and the tour presses on.

But Utonium wouldn't have been able to call himself a genuine scientist if he hadn't stopped to consider the potential risks there would be exposing three teenage girls and an ape to something radioactive. "…"

The Facility tour concludes in the foyer it began in, with Kepler addressing the row of scientists like a sergeant addressing his soldiers. "I have a saying in my line of work. '_In Terra inest virtus, quae Lunam ciet._' 'There is a force in the Earth which causes the Moon to move.' My fellow scientists, _we_ are that force. With the resources you see before you, we have the power to change the world at its very core. What starts out as just a handful of lives today could be a small city tomorrow! And the day after that, an entire country! This is why Project X is here! This is why _we're_ here! …So…let's make the dream a reality, shall we?"

At Kepler's inspiring words, the row of scholars shares a round of applause. Amidst the sound of clapping hands, Richard leans over to Utonium at his right and murmurs, "Betcha this guy got an A in public speaking. Hehehe."

Utonium, however, was less interested in tickling his funny bone and more in the three girls that slept soundly just outside his line of view. The ultimate goal of this project was to change their lives. But the question that nagged at the back of Utonium's mind…was how.

_**Project Powerpuff**_

_Part 2_

Three months later…

"Status report."

Through automated steel doors, Dr. Kepler enters the Facility's main testing lab. As is expected of him, he makes an appearance once every couple of weeks in the lab to monitor and document the progress of Project X's test subjects.

One of the researchers addresses back to him. "Cell growth in each of the subjects is progressing smoothly, Dr. Kepler. The Element X is taking all desired effects; no negative reactions so far."

"Glad to hear it. Any details?"

"Nothing that needs to be reported. Whatever cells the subjects are lacking, the Element X is compensating for. They should be up and about in another month or so."

"Excellent. …Hmm?" As his visions moves slightly upward, Kepler discovers Utonium standing by Rose Walker's stasis pod. Troubled by this sight, he approaches.

With his fingertips pressing against the pod glass, Utonium is lost in thought as he watches Rose sleep. 'What's wrong…? Do you not like it here or something…?'

"Utonium."

"!" Once again yanked from his inner monologue, Utonium turns to the almost cold look on Kepler's face.

"…" Suddenly, a tender smile takes the place of Kepler's previous expression as he addresses Utonium. "…How's Miss Walker doing?"

"Oh. W-Well… The Element X appears to be taking to her system just fine. The aneurysm's shrunken considerably since she arrived and will be ready for removal soon…but…"

"…'But'…?"

"…I've detected some minuscule reactions about the rest of her body. It's not processing the Element X as well as Aqua- I mean, Subjects 'X-3' and 'X-4' are."

"Hmm. I see. …Increase the dosage. 20 cc's."

"Increase? Wouldn't _decreasing_ the dosage be more prudent?"

"Playing it safe never yields results. Besides, as I've told you, Element X is perfectly harmless."

"In small increments, yes. But-"

"If you agree, then do it."

"But it'll hurt her!"

Utonium's outburst earns him looks of shock from nearly every scientist in the lab. Realizing his lapse in judgment, the agitated researcher backs away.

"…I understand how you feel, Dr. Utonium. Far be it from me to see harm come to any of our subjects. But you and I are men of science. We can't get emotionally invested. That is soil men like us can't ever tread. …I trust you'll keep that in mind."

"…Yes, sir."

"…10 more cc's of Element X should be enough."

"Yes, Doctor."

Having said his part, Kepler pockets his hands and takes his leave of the lab. As though to ignore Kepler's warning, Utonium looks up at Rose's slumbering face again. From the side, Richard decides to put in his two cents. "Sheesh. You're just a big trouble magnet, aren't you? …What's gotten into you, Johnny? You're eyeing 'Red' over here like she was your own kid."

"I'm not really sure how to rationalize it, Richard. Maybe I just feel sorry for them. I mean, she's got an aneurysm, Aqua over there's going blind, Midori can't walk… They're just kids. They shouldn't have to deal with stuff like that at their age. …I never did have kids of my own, you know. Having these three here… It kinda feels like they are."

"…What about the monkey? He supposed to be your _pet_ or something?"

"Hahahaha!"

Sharing in his friend's laughter, Richard approaches Utonium from the left and puts a hand on his shoulder. "You're working too hard, man. C'mon. Let's grab some lunch. Your treat."

"Heh. You haven't changed since college, Dick."

"Damn straight."

Through the frigid steel hallways of the Facility, Utonium and Richard make their way toward the mess hall. The smell of freshly baked bread and assorted chowders was enough to make even the most diligent of scientists salivate. While it had brought up feelings of nostalgia for the two of their college days, the thought of how much they'd grown up since then also dealt their egos a hefty blow.

During the stroll, the pair passes by a dimly lit corridor whose only source of light was through a crack in a door at the end. From said door, the two just barely makes out a human voice.

"You hear that?", nudges Utonium. "…That sounds like Kepler."

"Must be his office back there."

Overcome by curiosity, the inquisitive Utonium decides to go a-snooping and quietly inches over to the office door.

"_Now_ what are you doing?"

"Would you relax? What's wrong with a little…investigative analysis? It's not like Kepler has anything to hide, right?"

"If he has nothing to hide, why sneak around behind his back?"

For once, Utonium was unable to come up with a response.

"…You've got problems, Johnny."

"Just go on ahead to the mess hall. I'll meet you there in a bit."

With a shrug, Richard complies and turns away. "Whatever. But I ain't holding a spot for you in line." And with that, he leaves Utonium to his own devices.

The closer Utonium draws to the door, the clearer the voices behind it become. Kepler's voice was naturally identifiable, but the voice of the person he was conversing with was foreign to Utonium's ears.

"_I grow impatient, Kepler._"

'Who is that…?'

"I assure you that the other scientists and I are working as swiftly as we can. 'Rome wasn't built in a day', sir."

"_If you have time to give me meaningless proverbs, you have time to give me results. How are the test subjects doing?_"

"Development is…lax, admittedly, but steady. You know what they say about bad eggs. Let's just say I have a few that are troublesome to handle."

"_I don't 'handle' bad eggs. I _break_ 'em._"

"Yes, I'm sure you have your own methods for doing things, as I do my own. Regardless, the Excelsior program is still on schedule. You'll have your little _toys_ soon enough."

Judging by the sound quality of the other voice, Utonium deduced that he and Kepler were just chatting via video feed. ''Excelsior program'? What on Earth is-?' Utonium would have his thoughts interrupted yet again when, in his haste to withdraw, he unwittingly knocks over a short metal pipe that had been leaning against a nearby wall. It makes a rather deafening clang as it falls onto the floor. "!"

"Who's there?", panics Kepler from inside his office.

'Shit!'

As Kepler swings the ajar door fully open, he discovers the prying Utonium on the other side. "Utonium…!"

Before the alarmed Project X director, Utonium had his right hand held up in a fist, as though he were about to knock on the door. "Oh! There you are, Doctor.", says Utonium, feigning surprise. "Pardon the intrusion, but I was wondering if you'd like to join us for lunch."

"…" Upon closer inspection of Utonium's person, Kepler notices tiny beads of sweat gathering at his temple and that his hands were trembling. "…Sorry, but I'm very busy right now. Another time perhaps." Immediately following this, Kepler proceeds to close his office door all the way.

Seemingly in the clear, Utonium exhales a heavy sigh of relief. 'That was too close…' But now, the middle-aged scientist had a reason to suspect Kepler's motives. He wanted to know more about this 'Excelsior program' and the details surrounding it. Motioning a full 180 degrees, he makes his way toward the mess hall, once again lost in thought.

On the other side of the office door, the enigmatic Kepler is seen still palming the doorknob. Just as Utonium now had suspicions about him, so too did he call Utonium's reliability to question. "…"

In the mess hall, a small percentage of the scientists that made up the Project X team enjoys an afternoon meal, as prepared by the Facility's cooking staff. At the west end of the hall, Richard Hardly samples of such a meal as he awaits the arrival of his confidant. Mere moments later, a shadow is cast upon the dining Hardly, drawing his attention up. "Well, took you long enough.", he greets with faux annoyance. "You get your fill of being a _spy_?"

"Almost…", Utonium responds as he seats himself. "…I need your help with something."

"With what?"

"You're still good at encryption hacking, right…?"

"…I'm listening."

The days that followed would be uncharacteristically uneventful. The progress of Project X's test subjects was steady and constant as always. Utonium had held off on his investigation into the Excelsior program so as to avoid suspicion. Thoughts of Rose, Aqua, and Midori were enough to keep him occupied.

Late one mid-March evening, after everyone in the Facility had retired for the day, one of the computer labs was still well in use. Before the monitor, Richard attempts to access classified Project X files, his fingers racing across the keyboard. Under his breath, the hard-at-work Hardly is heard mumbling as if in a mantra, "Uh-huh… Yeah… Here we go…"

Over Richard's shoulder, Utonium watches as his friend works his magic. "So can you do it?"

"Pssssh. Who do you think you're talking to? …Though if Kepler catches us in here, we're dead meat."

"Just like old times, huh?"

"Hehehe. I'll say. So what are we looking for?"

"I overheard Kepler mention something called the 'Excelsior program'."

"'Excelsior program'… Got it! Here it is! …Looks like some sort of military program sponsored by the U.S. government."

"Military? What does the military want with Project X?"

"'Genetic engineering'… 'Human enhancement'…They're using Element X…to create an army of super-soldiers!"

"_What?_"

Just then, a series of intermittent low-pitched beeps cuts the discussion short. "…Uh-oh."

"What is it?"

"IDS just kicked in. They know we're here."

"!"

"What do we do? There's no way out…!"

"…"

A cluster of hastened footsteps approaches from down the hall. All of a sudden, a trio of armed guards bursts in with handguns loaded and fully cocked. "Freeze!", the foremost guard cries. The three lock their barrels onto a solitary target.

His cover blown, Utonium steps away from the computer terminal and holds out his empty hands in surrender.

Shortly, the group is joined by an infuriated Johann Kepler. "Well, well. Look who I caught with his hand in the cookie jar.", he starts in a strangely calm tone.

"Kepler, you monster!", Utonium snaps. "Did you think I wouldn't eventually find out what it is you're planning?"

"'Planning'? We all have so-called 'plans'. You'll have to be a little more specific."

"Drop the act! I know all about your 'Excelsior program'! That you plan to turn Project X's test subjects into human weapons! And you have the nerve to call yourself a man of science?"

"It is precisely _because_ I'm a man of science that I created Project X. The realm of science isn't the world of sunshine and rainbows you believe it to be, Dr. Utonium. It's a world of darkness, of cruelty. When forced to live in such a world, you do what you must for the good of mankind."

"I refuse to believe that!"

"Machines, biological warfare, the atomic bomb - you can't deny that all the advances made in science over the years have been for the sake of gaining a competitive edge over man's enemies. There's no denying it. And there's certainly no changing it. While we do our subjects a service in ridding them of their debilitating afflictions, we have a bigger, much greater purpose."

"These are real human lives you're toying with, Kepler! You talk about our 'subjects' as though they were lab rats to be disposed of when we're through with them! They're _real_ human beings with _real_ names!"

"…" With a backhand motion of his arm, Kepler signals for his guards to stand down and lower their weapons. Upon doing so, he walks up to Utonium to address him up-close. "I warned you about getting emotionally invested, Utonium. It's only because I still require your expertise that I'm not taking you into custody. But you're going to forget everything you saw and heard here or else. Our subjects are replaceable, and so are you."

"…"

"…So glad we've come to an understanding." With an about face, Kepler exits the lab, with his trained guns at his heel.

Left alone in solemn silence, Utonium quietly calls out, "…The coast is clear, Dick."

Having been in hiding, Richard emerges from underneath the terminal desk, now free to breathe easy as he was practically holding his breath that whole time. "Whew! I saw my life flash before my eyes just now! Ahhh… I owe you one, Johnny."

"More like you owe me _three_."

"But, man, talk about keeping up a public appearance. Who knew that's what Kepler was like under his mask…?"

"…"

"…So what's the plan now, Utonium? Maybe we should quit while we're ahead. I don't think we can fight this one."

Unfortunately for Utonium, Richard was more than likely correct. Kepler had the entire Project X committee, along with its legal team, at his back. He'd have won before it began. Resigned to this, Utonium exits the lab as well, deep in thought, and wanders the Facility aimlessly until he happens upon the sleeping girls Rose, Aqua, and Midori. The thought of them being turned into mindless soldiers disconcerted him. It almost made him physically ill. "…I won't let them do as they please to you…", murmurs Utonium to himself. "I won't let them turn you into weapons…! I'll die before I let that happen!"

A handful of days later, Jojo the chimpanzee – better known at the Facility as Subject 'X-1' – is once again let out into an open-air environment to stretch his legs (as well as his brain). With a considerable amount of Element X the driving force behind his intellect, Jojo now had the mental capacity to solve complex mathematical equations and algorithms. In a Facility room shielded by Plexiglas, a pair of researchers observes as the little ape writes out such calculations on a whiteboard in black marker ink. "It's extraordinary, isn't it?", one of the scientists remarks. "Just a few months ago, this little guy couldn't even stand upright, and now he's doing Algebra."

"Yeah, the Element X has really worked wonders with him. …I almost feel bad for calling him a 'poor dumb monkey' when he first got here. Heh."

"Hey, careful what you say around him. He's smart now; he could actually understand you."

"Hahahaha!"

As the two converse and laugh amongst themselves, Jojo takes a pause in his calculations.

"…_It will be starting soon…_"

"Eh? You say something?"

"I didn't say anything."

Suddenly, the 'ah-OO-ga' sounds of klaxons blare noisily across the Facility halls. "ALERT!", a voice exclaims through a building-wide intercom. "BREACH IN SECTOR D! PLEASE STAND BY AS PROPER SECURITY MEASURES ARE ENFORCED! I REPEAT, BREACH IN SECTOR D! PLEASE STAND BY…!"

"Security breach?", one scientist repeats doubtfully, as such a possibility seemed near unfeasible. "Who would want to break in here?"

"We'd better get 'X-1' back to the-" Cut off mid-sentence, the other scientist is surprised to find that Jojo had vanished. "Hey, where'd he go?" His eyes dart about the room in search of the ape until a mass of claws and black fur ambushes him from above with a screech. "Aah!"

Elsewhere in the building, a second group led by Kepler makes a mad dash toward Sector D, where the stasis pod and Element X samples were kept. The party reaches the cooling chamber which stored all of the vials of Element X. As they peer through the protective glass window, the group is shocked to find every vial destroyed, the black viscous liquid spilled about the floor and seeping into the cracks. "The Element X!", Kepler shrieks in horror. "My life's work!"

Shortly, the party is joined by a couple of security guards. "Dr. Kepler, sir!"

"Who is it? Who's the intruder?"

"Our sensors didn't pick up any intruders, sir!"

"None…? That's impossible!"

"WARNING!", the intercom voice interjects again. "PROTOCOL VIOLATION DETECTED IN STASIS LAB! PROTOCOL VIOLATION DETECTED IN STASIS LAB!"

Kepler was able to put two and two together at this point. His teeth were liable to crack from the pressure at which he clenched them. "…Utonium…!"

Inside the aforementioned stasis lab, Utonium, using Richard's hacking program, works to erase all of Project X's data with the supposed intention of bringing both Project X and the Excelsior program to a permanent standstill. Just a few feet away from where he stood, Rose, Aqua, and Midori are seen wrapped in towels and loaded onto a sort-of platform baggage cart, ready to be transported away. "Almost done…! Just a little more…!"

"Utonium!"

Across the lab, the frenzied professor spots Richard. "!" He pointed a gun at him. "…Richard?"

"I swear, it's one thing after another with you…! The hell do you think you're doing…?"

"…I can't just stand by and let this happen, Dick. You heard Kepler yourself; he sees humans as nothing more than guinea pigs to be experimented on and thrown to the lions…!"

"And you have a problem with that! I get it! But this… This is just plain stupid! You know what they'll do to you once they get their hands on you?"

"…You gonna stand in my way…?"

"Even if you _do_ manage to get away, what then? Where will you go? They'll track you down! And what about the girls? They won't be able to go back home!"

"I have an old house up in Townsville. We'll be safe there until I can figure things out. …I can't abandon them, Dick. I can't let them be drawn into this kind of life. I wouldn't wish it upon anyone."

"Always the idealist… Always the dreamer… You always gotta be the 'Great Utonium'…"

"…"

"…"

"…Dammit!" Turning his gun on the lab door, Richard fires a couple of shots into an electronic access panel, preventing entry to the lab for anyone on the other side. "…Consider us even."

Utonium bares a relieved half-smile. With one final keystroke, he deletes all of Project X's data. Having accomplished this, he takes a hold of the cart and wheels the girls toward the emergency exit.

With his friend's retreat secured, Richard drops the gun onto the floor. "…Heh. Way to keep me entertained up 'til the very end, Johnny."

Outside the lab, the scientists try in vain to get the doors open. "No good! It won't open!"

Kepler had all but reached his boiling point. 'Utonium, you have no idea what kind of mistake you're making…!' Turning to the guards, he commands, "Lock down all exits! Utonium is not to take even _one step_ off this property!"

"Yes, sir!"

Even further outside, just beyond the Facility walls, Utonium carefully places the girls inside his car - Aqua in the passenger seat, Rose and Midori in the back. Once securing Aqua's seatbelt, he jumps into the driver's seat, starts the engine, and peels away from the lot. "…"

"…Mmm…" Stirred awake by the goings-on around her, Aqua slowly opens her eyes and looks up at Utonium, naturally curious as to why she was in a moving vehicle. "What's going on…?", she utters in a low, soft tone. "Who are you…? Where are we…?"

"…My name is John Utonium. I'm taking you away from this horrible place."

Having been roused from her sleep as well, Rose chimes in. "Are you with Project X? Where are you taking us?"

"…Somewhere safe."

A GPS navigation device on the dashboard powers itself on. "_Destination?_", an automated voice inquires.

"Townsville, Orange County."

"_Confirmed. 287 miles to destination. Please follow the path specified._"

"Good. Looks like they haven't jammed my signal yet."

"LOOK OUT!"

"!" Focusing on the road again, Utonium notices a large chain-link fence starting to close shut. "Hmph! Hang on!" With a firmer grip on the steering wheel, he presses down on the gas pedal, almost doubling the vehicle's speed.

In a maneuver that almost makes the earth quake, the vehicle breaks through the fence, ripping it away from its foundation. Their getaway was virtually certain.

Wrapping the towel tightly around her naked form, Rose cries out, "Jeez Louise, man! This ain't an action flick!"

"Heh. I apologize. It was the first time I'd ever attempted something like that."

With the worst now behind them, the group races through the desert at speeds exceeding 55mph, nothing lying ahead but hope of a new beginning.

"…And so…", the fatherly professor concludes. "…the brave knight rode off on his horse and carriage with the three young maidens in tow, promising them only bright days to come. …The end."

Midori was amused by the liberties taken with this retelling of the story. "You're a knight now? When did that happen?"

"Hey, don't look at me. _You're_ the one who asked me to tell it."

"Hehehe."

"What'd _you_ think, Aqua?"

The man's inquiry would be met with the sound of soft snoring coming from Aqua's bed.

Rose saw it coming a mile away. "Hah. Every single time."

Rising from his seat, Utonium walks over to tuck Aqua in underneath the covers.

"In all seriousness, Professor…", Rose continues. "…we realize the risk you put yourself at and the sacrifices you made to bring us here. Even though it'll be a while before we can go back to our homes and families…you've been like a real father to us. …Thank you…for everything."

"Yeah, what she said.", Midori enters with. "You're alright, 'Pops'."

It pleased Utonium greatly to know that the girls had come to treat him like a father just as he'd come to treat them like daughters. "Thank you, girls. After a year like this, I needed to hear that." After putting Aqua to bed, he moves for the door, turning back to them once more. "…Sweet dreams."

"Night."

"G'night."

Taking leave of the girls' bedroom, Utonium heads for his own, pondering on the girls' words as he walked.

"_Thank you…for everything…"_

"…" The man couldn't help but chuckle. In all the grief getting emotionally invested got him, he was content with the results.

…Elsewhere in Townsville, a figure cloaked in darkness looms over the cityscape from atop a towering skyscraper. It casts its menacing gaze upon the city with intent to ruin.

"…_Just as the sun sets the morning sky ablaze…so too shall this city erupt in fire…_"


	3. Chapter 3

So, yeah... Remember when I said this would be a three-part story? Well, part 3 ran on a little longer than I thought it would, so... Now it's four! Lucky you! Enjoy part 3, and look forward to part 4 (coming soon)!

**Disclaimer**: The Powerpuff Girls is a trademark of Craig McCracken and Cartoon Network. Any similarities between this and other works submitted to this site is purely coincidental.

* * *

As it had done the morning before, the sun, in all its golden-yellow brilliance, rises from the east to herald in the new dawn. Cirrus clouds paint the sky a vivid blend of blue and white. Today's forecast: sunny with a chance of good fortune.

Slivers of sunlight creep through the glass windows and into the Powerpuffs' bedroom. The first to receive the radiance of this light was the raven-haired Midori, who responds in kind by pulling the bed sheets over her eyes. Evidently, the lass was not to be denied several more minutes of sleep.

The sporadic buzzing noise of an alarm begins to sound, prompting a groggy Aqua to reach over to her nightstand clock. Yet, even after tapping the snooze button, the sleep-unfriendly noise refuses to cease. Several more taps on the button, and Aqua was starting to get annoyed. "Come on…!" With one last arm movement, the drowsy blonde unplugs her alarm clock from the wall socket. Even still, the loud buzzing continued to test Aqua's patience. Finally fed up, she yanks the covers off her and sits up in her bed. "Would someone shut that off already?", she shrieks in utter frustration.

Glancing around her immediate suffrroundings, Aqua comes to realize that neither hers nor Rose's alarm clocks had gone off. In reality, the time hadn't even reached 7:00am. Aqua then turns her eye to the wall on her left and notices a flashing red light, exactly like the one in Ms. Keane's classroom. Her eyes go slightly wide with shock. "…The Powerpuff Siren…!"

…Shortly after awakening Rose and Midori, Aqua departs for the skies of Townsville alongside her 'sisters', the three of them now dressed in casual day clothing.

Midori brings her hand to her mouth and exhales a great yawn. "A distress call this early in the morning…?", grumbles the black-haired Powerpuff. "I know they say 'crime never sleeps', but this is ridiculous…"

Turning to Rose in the middle, Aqua inquires, "Where'd the call come from?"

"City Hall.", the de facto Powerpuff leader replies simply. "Must be pretty big for the mayor to call us into his office."

"Yeah, well, if it meant getting me up at 6 o'clock, something had better be on fire."

"Let it go, Midori!"

After mere minutes of flight, the girls touch down upon the front steps of Townsville City Hall and make their way into the building. As they walk through its lavishly decorated corridors, the members of the city hall staff greet them with a "Hi" or wave as they pass by. Before long, they reach the mayor's office at the corridors' end, where the mayor himself and Sara Bellum awaited their arrival. The two had rather troubled expressions to them. "…Hello, girls.", the mayor greets from behind his desk, his hands clasped. "I appreciate you coming on such short notice."

"What's wrong, Mr. Mayer?", asks Rose with a similarly concerned look. "You almost never ask to meet with us in person."

Turning his head a bit to the right, the mayor looks up at the equally anxious Sara Bellum.

Motioning a nod back at him, Sara approaches the teenage trio in a composed walk. and hands to them a piece of printing paper adorned with elegant script. "We received this fax earlier this morning."

Rose takes the paper and quickly reads through the message:

"_Blessed by intelligence, my eyes have opened.  
__I have seen this world for what it truly is.  
__Humans are a blemish that must be wiped away.  
__They must be held accountable for the injustices they have committed.  
__I shall serve as their judge, their jury, and their executioner.  
__My vengeance shall be known throughout the world.  
__And when the sun has reached its apex,  
_…_I shall start with this city."_

Needless to say, the cryptic and menacing nature of the message had left a bad taste in the girls' mouths. "A…terrorist threat…?", Rose finally utters, unease brewing within her as well.

"Whoever sent this is sure pissed off about something.", comments Midori, trying her hardest to stay calm.

"'Held accountable'? 'Injustices'? 'Vengeance'? Whatever that 'something' is, it must've been pretty major.", Aqua observes. "He sounds so…angry."

"Angry, yet calculating. Just look at this handwriting, this grammar - this wasn't written by someone out to destroy everything he can get his hands on. This is a person who knows exactly what he wants and the most logical way to get it."

Opting to chime in, the mayor speaks up. "What about the part about the sun?"

"Oh, that's easy. '_When the sun has reached its apex_'? It's the time of day when the sun's at its highest point in the sky - around 12:00 noon."

"Which means…", Sara interjects, folding her arms across her chest. "…that around 12:00 today, something's going to happen. And we have no way of knowing what it is or where it'll be."

Rising out of his chair, the mayor moves toward the front of his desk. "We may not know what's going to happen, but at the very least we can take measures to act against it. For starters, we'll increase security at all the major city hotspots: City Hall, the bank, Morbucks Manor. We'll close off all traffic in and out of the city."

Turning to face the rattled mayor, Sara queries, "Should we order an evacuation?"

"There are over 50,000 people living in Townsville, and noon is less than 6 hours away. There's no way we'd get them all out in time. Besides, a civilian riot is the _last_ thing we need right now." Overwhelmed by helplessness, the mayor turns his plight to the girls. "I'm sorry to ask so much of you, girls, but will you cooperate with our efforts?"

"Of course!", squeals Aqua. "We love Townsville too!"

"What she said." Midori adds. "Like we're gonna just roll over for some lowlife with a chip on his shoulder. Screw that!"

Sara lets out a sigh of heavy relief. It was comforting to have the Powerpuffs' strength on their side. "Thank you, girls. You have no idea how pleased we are to hear that."

"Don't worry, Mr. Mayer, Ms. Bellum…" At her sides, Rose's hands tighten into fists. "We'll protect this city… No matter what happens…!"

_**Project Powerpuff**_

_Part 3_

11:40am.

High above the city, at a point in space where the entire cityscape was in full view, Rose, Aqua, and Midori hover back-to-back in an outward facing triangle. Whatever was expected to occur, there was virtually no way to miss it.

The cool high-altitude winds blow vigorously and coil around the girls' forms. The calmness of the moment made it appear as though time had come to a screeching halt…

…an ordeal in and of itself for a certain green-eyed teen. "…This is so boring…", Midori gripes with her arms crossed.

"Try to be patient for once in your life, 'Green'.", Rose retorts. "It's almost that time anyway."

"Couldn't we have had lunch first? I could be stuffing my face with chicken fingers right now. I thought you said '12:00'…!"

"I said '_**around**_ 12:00'. The time when the sun's highest in the sky depends on the time of year. …Take a look there." With her arm outstretched, Rose turns Midori's attention to a nearby skyscraper.

Unfortunately, the eldest Powerpuff was a tad slow on the uptake. "Yup. It's a building."

"…Lower."

"…" Midori's gaze descends until it falls upon the skyscraper's shadow. With each minute that passed, the shadow grew smaller. "…Oh! I get it! The sun'll be at its highest…"

"…when there are no shadows. And judging by how small they are right now, it's only a few more minutes."

The minutes seemed to tick away like hours. The suspense made Aqua tremble with excitement and fear. It made Rose's temple damp with perspiration, despite the altitude. It made Midori's throat dry and heartbeat quicker.

A deafening silence overtakes the city. The shadows cast by its buildings were but centimeters wide.

…At precisely 11:48 and 31 seconds, not a single shadow could be seen.

The girls held their breath. "!"

11:48:32.

11:48:33.

11:48:34.

Before long, the sun begins to cast shadows in the opposite direction.

The group was puzzled, but the tension no thinner. "N-Nothing happened…!", stutters Aqua, the first to shatter the silence.

Beads of sweat drip down the side of Rose's face. "Was it…a bluff…?"

Midori brings her hands up behind her ears to get a better grasp of the city sounds. Honking car horns. Talking people. Construction crews. Barking dogs. At first, nothing seemed out of place. "…Wait. You hear that?"

Focusing their hearing as well, Rose and Aqua filter out the assorted city noises to locate the odd noise discovered by their 'big sis'. "…Ticking?"

"Yeah. What is that?"

"Sounds like a clock."

"…Or a _timer_…!"

"Timer? Y-Y-You mean a bomb?"

"Midori! Where's it coming from?"

"U-Um…"

"Well?"

"I'm trying! Shut up so I can concentrate!" Pouring all she had into her hearing, Midori tries to narrow down the source of the ticking noise. Her Element X-driven sensitive hearing eventually points her in the direction of… "…The bridge!"

The Great Oaks Bridge. One of the primary means of travel in and out of the city. A Townsville landmark.

A moderate-sized manmade device is seen affixed to the base of one of the iron beams keeping the bridge erect. Attached to this device was a timer resembling a digital clock. The front panel read 00:04 in green pixelated numbering.

"Hurry!" Without a moment's hesitation, the girls take frantic flight toward the bridge.

The seconds tick away like the hammering of a gavel. 00:03.

'Come on…!'

A firecracker going off in one's ear. 00:02.

'_Come on…!_'

The sounding of a gong. 00:01.

'_**COME ON…!**_'

The sequence of adjacent zeros is immediately followed by a series of quick, high-pitched beeps, and then…!

"!"

Before the Powerpuffs could react, the entirety of the bridge is engulfed in a dense veil of fire and smoke. Chunks of concrete and metal cabling plummet into the bay below. Cinders shoot up into the air, only to be extinguished by waves of rising water.

Rose, Aqua, and Midori look on in horror as the remains of the Great Oaks Bridge sink into the bay. All that could be articulated was a whispered "…No…" that barely escapes Rose's lips.

…Once the fire and smoke dies down - with some 'icy' assistance by Rose - the girls fly down to the ground to get a closer look of the wreckage. "This is horrible…", remarks Aqua, who was on the verge of tears.

"If the mayor didn't have the bridge closed off…", Rose starts. "…I don't even wanna think about how much worse it would've been. Bridges can be rebuilt…but lives can't."

Midori, as uncharacteristic of her as it was, had nothing to say. She stares at the destroyed bridge with trembling fists and gritting teeth. "…Tch!"

Noticing her fellow Powerpuff's dilemma, Rose puts a sympathetic hand on Midori's shoulder. "Hey. Don't do this to yourself, okay? There was nothing you could do. Nothing _any of us_ could do. We had no possible way of knowing this would happen. At least no one got hurt, right?"

"Yeah, yeah, I know all that… But-"

"'But' nothing. We'll get this guy. And you can kick his ass for the three of us. 'Kay?"

"…" At her other side, Midori feels someone take her hand into theirs. Looking over, she sees Aqua giving her a supportive, loving smile. She could feel her self-imposed burden lift. "…Heh. Deal."

"…_A touching display of human affection…_"

"!"

The girls' eyes dart about in search of the unfamiliar voice. "Who's there?"

"…_A shame that their affection reaches only other humans… To them, all other living things are inferior…_"

As a shadow is cast upon them, the girls turn their attention upward, where a strange figure could be seen looming from atop a tall building, its face obscured by the glaring sunlight. The figure leaps from the rooftops to greet the trio, landing gracefully on its feet. It initially appears to take the form of a person of somewhat short stature, with the majority of its body hidden by tattered robes. The figure pulls back its hood to reveal…

…a chimpanzee.

An awkward wind blows between the two parties. "It's…a chimp."

In response to Midori stating the obvious, Rose teases, "Brilliant deduction, 'Sherlock'." She then takes a cautious step forward as to not startle the creature. "Uh… Hey there, little guy.", the redhead starts. "You know where your owners are? We'll take you to 'em if you want."

"…Hmph. As if I would lower myself to such a trivial human concept as 'ownership'."

"!"

For a brief moment in time, the girls believed themselves to be hallucinating. Aqua takes several steps back out of sheer shock. "O-Okay… Did anyone else just hear that monkey talk, or was it just me…?"

"I am not a monkey; I am an _ape_…!"

"Okay, so it's a _politically correct_ chimp…", Midori adds to her previous observation.

Disregarding Midori's attempt at humor, Rose continues. "W-What…are you?"

"Is it so strange that an animal such as myself is gifted with the ability of human speech? When you yourselves possess such extraordinary abilities as flight and super speed?"

"You… You know about-?"

"I know all there is to know about you three. Rose Walker. Aqua Fontana. Midori Kondo. I know…because you are the same as me. You too were made into guinea pigs for the humans to conduct their heinous experiments on. You too were made into…monsters."

"…You're a product of Project X…"

"Correct. For four months, those wretched scientists had their way with my body - poking me, prodding me, injecting me with all manner of substances and chemical solutions. To them, I was naught but a 'poor dumb monkey'! I'd never endured such degradation!"

"…"

"…And then came the greatest injustice of all. It was only when I was able to form complete, coherent thoughts that I was able to discern their true objective: this 'Excelsior program'. What an utter joke! Made an unwilling lab rat for four grueling months only then to made use of as an instrument of war? The absolute indignity of it!"

"…"

Riled by his own tale, the chimp lets out a calming breath. "…And so…I made a decision… The humans will never take responsibility for their actions of their own volition. Therefore, I shall do it for them. I've already dealt away with that vile 'Facility'. Who better to serve as the arbitrator for this miserable race than the one who they themselves passed judgment upon?"

"!"

"_They must be held accountable for the injustices they have committed. I shall serve as their judge, their jury, and their executioner…"_

"…It's you…! _You're_ the one who sent that letter to Mr. Mayer's office…! _You're_ the one who destroyed the bridge too, aren't you?"

The talking ape bares his teeth in a wicked smile. As part of a deeper glimpse into his Element X powers, his feet lift off the ground and he begins to hover. "Merely a _taste_ of what I have in store for this city and inevitably the rest of the world! I am a common zoo exhibit no longer! That part of my life is over! I am only the harbinger of the human race's destruction! I am only…_**MOJO JOJO**_!" The self-renamed Mojo concludes his address with a classic malevolent laugh.

Midori cracks her knuckles in anticipation. "Tch! And I thought _our_ name was stupid!"

With her eyes set on Mojo, Rose addresses her sisters. "C'mon, girls! Let's knock 'Monkey Boy' off his high-horse!"

"Mm-hmm!"

With a fierce push with their feet, the Powerpuffs take off into the air and prepare to face Mojo in close quarters.

"I think not!", snaps Mojo as bring his hands to his head. Within seconds, the air around him begins to vibrate and push outward.

Before the girls could even reach Mojo, they're forced to go on the defensive when an onrush of kinetic energy bombards them. "T-The hell?"

"Remarkable, isn't it? Thanks to Element X, I'm able to tap into an unparalleled level of mental power! To wit…!" Off to the side, Mojo takes notice of an antenna tower. He points his left palm in its direction and uses his kinetic abilities to break off several lengths of the tower's tip. Then, with a forceful forward motion of his arm, Mojo catapults the piece of antenna at the girls.

"Look out!", Aqua shouts. The trio scatters about in their evasion of the pointed projectile. Like the remnants of the Great Oaks Bridge, it crashes into Townsville Bay.

"So 'Chimpy' can do tricks with his brain! Big freakin' whoop!", Midori boasts. "I'm still gonna knock him on his ass!" She speeds through the air once more toward Mojo.

Mojo attempts to push Midori back with a second wave, but his concentration breaks due to what appears to be a headache. "Nngh…!"

Taking full advantage of this, Midori swoops in and delivers a powerful punch to Mojo's face.

The force of the blow sends Mojo reeling back into the wall of a nearby building. "Agh!" As he recovers from this, he discovers Midori hovering above him with a chunk of the Great Oaks in hand. "!"

"Eat this, 'Furry'!", Midori exclaims, proceeding to drop the giant mass onto Mojo below.

"Hmph!" At almost lightning speed, Mojo dodges the piece of bridge - just moments before the crash - and retreats into the city.

In reply, the girls give chase.

Mojo soars through and about the city streets, the Powerpuffs no more than a kilometer behind. In an effort to impede their pursuit, Mojo uses his advanced brainpower to throw anything at the girls that wasn't bolted down or could easily be lifted from its foundation: trashcans, mailboxes, stop signs, benches, and the like. The girls avoid these with little trouble, not breaking off pursuit for even a moment. But amidst the volume of items being thrown, they lose sight of Mojo. They take a temporary break from their chase at a three-way intersection. "Dammit!", Midori growls. "Where'd he go?"

A loud scraping sound draws the girls' looks east, from which an MTA bus drags noisily across the pavement. Driverless, it speeds toward them.

Aqua steps forward, seizing her own time to shine. "Get behind me! And cover your ears!"

Heeding the youngest Powerpuff's words, Rose and Midori shield their ears with their hands.

Following this, Aqua leans back, takes in a deep breath, and… "_**YAAAAAHHHHH!**_" …lets loose a mighty scream with a pressure level of a few hundred decibels. The intensity of Aqua's voice shatters every pane of glass within several meters of her, and with it focused in front of her, the bus's rate of movement slows, eventually grinding to a stop. "Whew… Close one…"

"Very impressive, little one…"

The girls shift their vision up to the top of the bus, where Mojo now stood.

"Do you not see? The magnificence of these powers given us far surpasses anything these pitiful humans could ever _hope_ of conceiving! They sought to make weapons of us; thus, weapons we must be! They must be made an example of that the lives of humans and animals are not theirs to toy with!"

"You talk too much!", a voice from the rear calls out.

As Mojo turns to face this voice, Midori's tightened fist strikes him backward.

Shooting up, Aqua catches Mojo's flying form and proceeds to toss him into a nearby brick wall.

Lastly, before Mojo could recover, Rose appears before him and affixes him to the wall with a breath of freezing wind. "…You're right.", says the red-haired girl. "It _was_ wrong of them to try and turn us into weapons when they were supposed to be helping us. And there _are_ times when we resent the Project X scientists for having such inhumane plans for us. But that doesn't justify genocide! Professor Utonium was one of those scientists, and he helped us escape that kind of life! He _saved_ us! And even if it costs us our lives, we'll protect him, Townsville, and the rest of the world from whatever the hell you have planned for it, Mojo!"

"…" Mojo's head slumps, seemingly in defeat. "…I see. I'm saddened you feel that way, Rose. You appear to be the most intellectual amongst you and your 'siblings'; I truly believed you of all people would understand… Very well."

"…So…you surrender?"

"…Quite the contrary… I've simply decided…that you may die with the rest of your loathsome kind…!"

"!"

"You may recall earlier when I said the destruction of your beloved bridge was 'merely a taste of what I had in store for this city'? I think you'll soon find I meant precisely that… Hehehe."

"The hell are you going on about now, you flea-bitten freak?"

"If you're as committed to protecting this city as you say, I'd act quickly if I were you…lest Townsville become nothing more than a smoldering pile of rubble… Won't be long now…"

The girls' eyes all widen greatly with bone-chilling terror. "You son of a…! You've had more than one bomb this whole time?"

"Let's see… Shouldn't be more than 30 minutes, I'd say- Agh!" Rose's fingers take a firm hold of Mojo's collar before he could continue.

"Rose!"

"Easy, 'Red'!"

The Powerpuff's crimson eyes go even redder with rage. "Where? Where'd you put them? Tell me now, or I break you in half!"

But even when faced with an angered Rose, Mojo keeps his composure. "My, my… And here I thought Midori was the quick-tempered one…"

"Keep it up, Mojo, and I'll show you just how quick-tempered I can be! Now tell me where they are!" Just then, a hand is placed on Rose's shoulder. Had it not been Midori's hand, Rose would have surely broken it in several places.

"Rose! You gotta calm down! Let him get under your skin, and it's all over!"

"…" Keeping a cool head was indeed key here, but it didn't make Rose any happier about letting Mojo go. "…Argh!" Out of frustration, her fist connects harshly with the brick wall, just inches from Mojo's head. The other hand releases Mojo's collar from its grip, and Rose turns to Midori and Aqua. "Alright, we don't have much time! We need to move quickly and carefully! Aqua, check the west side! Midori, you head north! I'll take east! If you find one of the bombs, be sure to move it to a safe distance outside the city before destroying it! Now, move!"

With a collective nod, the girls take off in varying directions to search for Mojo's explosives.

Meanwhile, still frozen in place, Mojo bares a spiteful grin. "Ah… So easily malleable, the will of man…" Harnessing a high amount of kinetic energy, the intelligent chimp frees himself from his cage of ice. "Hehehe… Now then…"

Over the next 15 minutes, Rose, Aqua, and Midori conduct a frenetic citywide search for Mojo's planted explosives. Their search turns up no results thus far. Rose was virtually at her wit's end. "C'mon…!", she mutters to herself during flight. "Where are you hiding…?"

Roughly 22 minutes into the search, the girls regroup high above the city. "Anything…?", asks Rose…

…only to be met with shaking heads. "I must've been combed over the north side at least three times. Nothing.", Midori replies.

"I couldn't even hear any ticking.", adds Aqua. "Could Mojo have set his other bombs up with silent timers?"

Yet again, Rose glances down at her wristwatch. "And it's already been over 20 minutes …! I'm gonna go check the park again!"

"Rose, wait!"

"'Wait'? Wait for what? Townsville's about to go up in flames!"

"Calm down, I said! Now think. Why would 'Monkey Boy' send us flying up and down the city? To make us sweat. We've been ALL over Townsville. If we haven't found any bombs by now, either Mojo's hidden them too well…or there aren't any bombs at all."

"I can't take that chance!" With that, Rose soars off to resume her search.

Now worried about Rose's rationality as well as Townsville's welfare, Aqua addresses Midori. "…You really think Mojo was lying about the other bombs?"

"No idea… Listen, I need you to do something for me. Let me and Rose worry about the bombs. Can you go check in on the Professor?"

A rather out-of-the-blue request, Aqua thought. "Why?"

"I just…have a really bad feeling."

"…" In indirect compliance, Aqua faces the southwest and heads for home.

Unable to shake her 'bad feeling', Midori simply continues searching for Mojo's alleged bombs.

In Townsville's suburban district, Aqua arrives at the Utonium household, her home away from home. She lands on the sidewalk and walks up the marble path to the front door. She lets herself in with a key, enters the house, and calls out, "Professor! Are you home?"

Having heard Aqua's voice, Utonium steps out from his basement laboratory, drying his hands with a cloth. "Hey, Aqua. What are you doing home so early?"

"Oh, good. You're still here."

"Of course. Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well-" Aqua finds herself cut off mid-sentence when a clatter by the front door draws her attention away. The front door was wide open, as Aqua had left it, but a small number of items had been knocked over. "…Hello?", Aqua beckons in the silence. "Rose, Midori, is that you?" All of a sudden, both Aqua and Utonium are hurled back by a powerful unseen force. "Aah!" Crashing into the wall behind them rendered the two momentarily immobilized. Aqua struggles to lift her head up to identify their attacker. "W-Who's…?"

A cloaked form descends upon her and the Professor. "…Humans are so…predictable…"

"M…Mojo…!"

…Meanwhile, somewhere near Townsville City Hall, Rose and Midori collapse from exhaustion after 28 minutes of bomb-searching. "I…don't…believe this…!", Rose heaves between breaths. "We must've…turned the city inside out…over 10 times by now…! And still nothing…!"

Midori, however, had other things on her mind. 'What the hell's taking Aqua so long…?'

"That's it then… It's hopeless… There's no way we can save Townsville now… We failed…"

"No, we haven't. We've only failed _after_ we've thrown in the towel. No way in hell I'm doin' that. Not yet."

"But what else can we do?"

"…Do you trust me?"

"What…?"

"It's a simple question, 'Red': Do you trust me?"

"…Yeah."

Midori kneels at Rose's side and holds up her watch-wearing hand. "…Don't take your eyes off it."

Rose fixates her gaze on the face of her wristwatch. By this time, it had been 29 minutes and 50 seconds. The tension matched that of 11:48am earlier. She swallows the lump in her throat as the second-hand reaches 57.

58.

59.

Rose's heart skips a beat at 60. And a new minute begins. Her heart starts to return to its normal beating rate. She lets out a great sigh. "Oh, man… I almost had a heart attack…"

"Same here. Honestly, I didn't think that'd work."

"_What?_"

"Never mind. You can chew me out about that later. We need to figure out Mojo's next move."

Rose would indeed resolve to take Midori up on her offer. But for the time being… Now able to think clearly, she crosses her arms and assumes a pose of deep thought. "Hmm… Well, he pretty much hates _all_ humans - that's no big secret. Who would he go after first…?"

"…_For four months, those wretched scientists had their way with my body - poking me, prodding me, injecting me with all manner of substances and chemical solutions… They must be made an example of that the lives of humans and animals are not theirs to toy with!"_

"…Oh, no…!"

Taking off into the sky without another thought, Rose and Midori rocket toward home. As soon as they land, they race inside through the wide-open front door. "Professor!", the two shout out in unison. But instead of the Professor's warm expression greeting them as they enter, they arrive to a most frightening scene:

Various objects around the house were cracked, bent, torn, or otherwise beyond recognition or repair. There were evident signs of a struggle. And in the far corner of the room was a figure of petite physique, barely conscious and covered in cuts and bruises. "Aqua!", Rose cries in dread. She runs over to tend to her little sister's injuries. "You okay? Speak to me!"

Opening her eyes as best she could, Aqua sees Rose's hazy form above her. "…R-Rose…"

"Hang in there, Aqua! You'll be alright!"

"What happened…?", Midori enters with.

"H-He… He just came out of nowhere… I tried fighting him off, but…he was so strong… And then, the Professor…" The injured blonde begins choking back tears. "…I couldn't stop him… I'm sorry…"

"What, Aqua? What happened to the Professor?"

"Mojo… He… He took him…!"

The news of Utonium's abduction had struck Rose and Midori like a lead weight. The Powerpuff of red locks lowers her head in shame. "…You were right, Midori…"

"Say what now?"

"I let Mojo get under my skin. He made a complete fool of me, and because of it, the Professor's gone…!" She pounds her fist into the floor. "I led Mojo right to him! I'm such an idiot!"

"Don't even go there, 'Red'. He played all of us. He was one step ahead the entire time. But there's still time to save the Professor. Question is, are you gonna let a monkey with a big brain walk all over you?"

"…" Letting Aqua be, Rose rises to her feet and turns to Midori with unyielding eyes. "…Let's go. I'm gonna throttle that monkey."

"Now you're talkin'!"

Aqua stands up as well, albeit unsteadily. "I'm going too…!"

"You crazy, 'Pigtails'? You can't even stand up straight!"

"I'm with Midori. Maybe you should take it easy, Aqua…"

"I'm fine! I'll 'take it easy' when the Professor's safe! Don't even try to change my mind!"

Aqua's eyes meet with Rose's, and Rose sees the determination in them firsthand. Any argument would be wasted here. She sighs in defeat. "…Try not to push yourself, 'kay?"

"Mm-hmm!"

With that, the trio sets out from their home to track down their father figure and kidnapper.

Rose was beside herself with anxiety. 'Professor… Please be alright…!'


	4. Chapter 4

Well, here it is: part 4 of 4. Been a long time coming. ...Okay, not _that_ long. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer**: The Powerpuff Girls is a trademark of Craig McCracken and Cartoon Network. Any similarities between this and other works submitted to this site is purely coincidental.

* * *

"…It's time to wake up now, Professor Utonium…"

At last stirring from his state of induced sleep, John Utonium exhales a light, somewhat pained moan. His vision was blurred, but at the very least he was able to establish he was in an enclosed space that provided limited movement. "Ohhhh… W-Who's there?"

"…We wouldn't want you to miss out on the festivities…"

His vision clearing up, Utonium glances at his new surroundings. The ground at his feet was cold and metallic. The same applied to the ceiling just a handful of feet above his head. The view outside Utonium's closed space was obstructed by rows of similarly metallic bars arranged in a rectangle around him.

A cage.

Utonium's next observation: the cage was completely encircled by water. Pieces of the recently destroyed Great Oaks Bridge protrude from underneath the surface. Large steel scaffolding kept the cage suspended over Townsville Bay. "What is all this…?"

"The beginning, my dear Utonium…", a low-pitched voice replies. "The beginning of the human race's end…"

Utonium is shortly joined by a flying chimpanzee draped in rags – a sight the caged scientist is well taken aback by. "W-What are you…f?"

"Why, Professor… Do you not recognize me? It hasn't been that long, has it? Only five months, if memory serves…"

"…!" Utonium's face goes white. Near-forgotten memories of his Project X days come rushing back. "…Subject 'X-1'…!"

"Ah, good. You remember. But 'Subject X-1' is so very drab, no? I've come to favor the _nom de guerre_… 'Mojo Jojo'!"

"…What do you want with me…?"

"You and your fellow scientists took something from me, Utonium… My dignity! My pride! …Oh. But as far as your kind is concerned, animals have no such thing as pride, do they? Well… After today, that is going to change."

Approaching the edge of the cage, Utonium gets a closer look at the structure holding his prison up. It appeared to function similarly to a crane, with interconnected lattice girders suspending the cage over the water. Had Mojo simply wished it, Utonium would plummet to a watery death. He turns back to the diabolical Mojo with knots in his stomach. "…I see… You plan to kill me…"

"Very astute. Before long, the entire world shall know my wrath, but yes, I do intend to start with you."

Even knowing his own mortality, the confined Professor was oddly calm over the situation. "…I suppose I have it coming to me. One way or another, I had a feeling that I would have to own up to what I did at the Facility. It was… inexcusable. But you have to understand, Jojo, I did only what I thought was in yours and the girls' best interests. Your conditions improved so much. Had I known what that swine Kepler was up to, I never would have…"

"You show genuine remorse for your actions. But this changes nothing. The repentant words of a single human doesn't equate to a lifetime of servitude and humiliation. If a normal life is to be denied me, so too shall I deny this world life!"

"You can still live a normal life, Jojo! A better one than before, in fact! The intelligence given to you by the Element X can help mankind!"

"'Help mankind'… An interesting choice of words. Tell me, what do you define as 'helping mankind'? Ridding the world of disease? Discovering alternative energy sources? …What about putting your test subjects to work as soldiers? Is that your definition of 'helping mankind'?"

"No, that's–!"

"ENOUGH! Your words are wasted on me, Utonium! You and the rest of your race will know the cost of toying with the lives of the living! The cost of playing God!"

"…"

"…Ah. Our guests of honor have arrived." Facing the south, Mojo takes notice of three adjacent figures fast approaching. In the glare of the sunlight, they appear to be nothing more than black dots. But as the distance between them shortens, they take on a human shape.

A tall teenage girl with black hair on the right.

A short blonde with pigtails on the left.

And a 'middle sister' with long red hair in the center.

The three individuals instantly come across Utonium as familiar. "…Girls…!"

"I recommend you take one final look at your 'girls', Professor Utonium… For today is the last day any of you breathe life on this earth…" Brushing his ragged attire aside, Mojo is shown to be wearing an unusual pair of gloves. Mostly black in appearance, electric circuits run the length of Mojo's fingers.

These too strike a familiar chord with Utonium. "T-Those are my…!"

"And with these…", Mojo starts again. "…My destiny is assured…!" As he curls his fingers into a fist, the left glove surges with electrical energy.

_**Project Powerpuff**_

_Part 4_

Driven by their mutual desire to rescue their guardian and, as Midori so eloquently put it, 'kick some punk chimp ass', the Powerpuff Girls zip through the skies of Townsville toward the bay. As they close in, two objects come into view: a large metal cage like those seen in zoos, and a smaller humanoid figure hovering near it. "There they are!", Rose proclaims.

"Can you see the Professor, Aqua?", Midori follows with, addressing the littlest Powerpuff.

Among the three, Aqua's eyesight was without equal. She focuses her gaze upon the two objects in the distance, and her vision zooms in like a telescope. It eventually rests upon a figure sitting silently behind the cage's bars. "…There! I see him! He's okay!", the blonde gleefully replies.

Rose sighs heavily, and her hurried heartbeat finally slows. "Thank God…"

Barely able to contain her enthusiasm, Midori repetitively pounds her right fist into her left palm. "Well, he'd better _stay_ okay if Mojo hopes to see tomorrow!"

Even Rose herself was eager to polish her knuckles on Mojo's face.

But this would prove to be a chore in the long run: as the girls reach the 5-kilometer line between themselves and Mojo, they're suddenly faced with a violent show of electrical discharge.

"!" Upon seeing this, the redhead beckons her sisters to… "Move!"

The trio immediately scatters about and watches the lightning streak past. "The hell was that!"

In light of Mojo's new 'trick', the girls slow their approach and advance upon the super-smart chimp with caution.

Mojo hovers before the Powerpuffs with a toothy grin and crossed arms. "So nice of you to join us… Rose… Aqua… Midori… You're just in time for my coronation ceremony."

"Spare us another of your obnoxious spiels, Mojo.", Rose hisses. "Now let the Professor go!"

"Well, that wouldn't be appropriate, would it? After all, it's because of your beloved Professor that we stand here today. Besides, you are in no position to make demands. As it stands, _I_ hold all the cards! This day shall be decided by me alone!" As he lowers his arms to his sides, Mojo reveals his new weapon to the girls: the black gloves on his hands.

"What's with the gloves, 'Monkey Boy'?", Midori remarks. "You setting a new fashion trend or something?"

"By all means, Midori, make your jokes. It'll be healthy to have a good sense of humor…as you breathe your last breath!" The maniacal ape throws his hands to his sides, causing electricity to shoot out from his fingertips.

In preparation for the ensuing brawl, Rose directs her sisters. "Aqua, Midori, you handle Mojo! I'll see to the Professor!"

"Fine by me!", an excited Midori replies. "Let's go, 'Pigtails'!"

"Right!"

Rose splits off from the group and flies toward the cage. Mojo briefly watches as the redhead departs. "Hmph. A predictable tactic.", he comments to himself.

"Is _this_ predictable, you scumbag?"

Facing forward, Mojo sees Midori rapidly drawing near. Unable to defend himself properly, he reels back from the blow delivered to his face by her fist. "Tch! You wretch!" Mojo retaliates with an electrical attack of several thousand volts.

"Agh!" The attack stuns the brunette for a few moments, but she quickly bounces back. "Hah! That all you've got? I've felt static shocks worse than that!"

Mojo paid the girl's overconfidence no mind and focused on the matter at hand. With the short break in the battle, however, he notices that Aqua had left his field of view. "Where did…?" A battle cry from above turns Mojo's attention upward; he throws his arms up to shield himself against Aqua's incoming kick.

Aqua follows up her surprise dive with a barrage of lightning-fast kicks. "Hah! Hah! Hah!"

She slowly pushes Mojo back, and Mojo has little room to go on the offensive. "Argh!" On top of this, he sees Midori closing in from below. "Grrrr…!" The enraged chimp lets out a ferocious shriek, driving both Aqua and Midori away with a widespread burst of kinetic energy.

The burst throws the duo for a loop, rendering them vulnerable while they recover. As Midori attempts to do so, a clawed hand takes a firm grasp of her face. "!"

Mojo bares his fangs… "Heh!"

…and unleashes sheer amounts of high voltage to her system. "_**AAAAHHHH!**_"

With the stunning effect this produced, Mojo was free to toss Midori's limp body away. She flies helplessly over kilometers of water toward the mainland, crashing into the concrete.

"MIDORI!", cries Aqua in horror. She follows suit and soars off to tend to her sister, as was her nature.

With the strongest Powerpuff temporarily out of commission, Mojo shifts his focus elsewhere – namely, the red-haired Powerpuff to his rear. The malicious monkey grins almost ravenously.

At the mainland, a trail of broken concrete several yards long led to the side of a building, a good portion of it destroyed from something having crashed into it. From beneath the rubble, a figure emerges covered in dust and trace blood. Rising to her feet, Midori staggers forward, exhaling coughs and pained groans. "…I'm gonna kill that monkey…", she mutters, only partially serious.

Before long, she's joined by an anxious Aqua. "Midori! Are you okay? …Aah!" At the sight of Midori's body, the squeamish Powerpuff shields her eyes. "Uh… Y-Your shoulder…"

"Heh. Relax, would you?" Midori takes a hold of her right wrist and forcibly snaps her shoulder, which had popped out of its socket due to the crash, back into place. "Ahhh. There, see? I'm fine now."

"…I hate it when you do that…"

"Hehehe. …Come on. This ain't over yet."

With an affirming nod, Aqua makes a 180 and shoots back up into the sky, with Midori nipping at her heels.

Meanwhile, just outside the warzone's immediate range, Rose sees to freeing Professor Utonium from imprisonment. "Don't worry, Professor! I'll have you out of here in– Gah!" Bringing her hands to the iron bars caging him, Rose is cut short by a high-voltage electric shock. "Dammit! Mojo's always a step ahead of me!"

"…Tell me, Rose: was I wrong?"

"What was that, Professor?"

"Was I wrong to think that I could help people with Project X's resources? Even knowing full well what they were capable of? The time I'd spent with you girls was some of the happiest in my life, but…do the ends justify the means? Mojo's right – we were wrong to try and play God. If this is to be my atonement, then–"

"Stop right there, Professor!"

"Huh?"

"I know where you're going with this, Professor Utonium, and you can just stop talking. Don't think for a minute that Aqua, Midori, and I hold it against you for what's happened to us. Before you came into our lives, I used to go to sleep every night thinking I might not wake up the next morning. It's because of you that Aqua can see, and Midori can walk. You _did_ help us, Professor. You've given us hope for a better tomorrow. So don't tell me you're ready to die, because I'm not gonna let you!"

"…Rose…"

Flying to the top of the cage, Rose happens upon an abstract device serving as the conduit for the cage's energy output. "Bingo!" She removes the device's protective covering and exposes the complex network of wiring underneath. "Okay… Let's see here…" Rose's eyes dart about the circuitry, and little by little she gains an idea of how the apparatus functions. "…Looks like Mojo rigged this thing to blow if I tried to remove it by force. Hmph. Way to underestimate me." By severing just a single cable, she completely disables the device. "There. That should–" Just then, the redhead is struck in the back by a condensed bolt of lightning, instantly coercing her to her knees. She turns her head back and observes a certain spiteful primate hovering a handful of feet away. "M-Mojo…!"

"I applaud you, dearest Rose.", starts Mojo cheekily. "You're far more skillful than I'd initially presumed. With the proper conditioning, you'd most certainly be a force to be reckoned with. The offer still stands, my kin – join me, and we shall reign over this pitiful world together. With the power bestowed upon us, there is nothing – _nothing_ –f we cannot accomplish."

"Go to hell…!", Rose hisses through her chattering teeth. "And don't you _ever_ call me your kin!"

"Defiant to the bitter end… Even faced with utter despair, you cling feebly to hope… Why do you so adamantly defend those who made you into a science experiment?"

"…"

"…Nothing left to say?"

"…"

Mojo was uneasy. He found Rose's silence off-putting, and her gaze appeared to frequently shift between him and something else. "…!" He spins around and fires a stream of lightning from his fingers.

The remaining two Powerpuffs Aqua and Midori spread out to evade Mojo's attack.

"!" With Mojo's back turned to her, Rose leaps to her feet and charges ahead at full speed.

Mojo turns back toward Rose just in time for her fist to make contact with his face. The hit sends him reeling through the air yet again.

Still recovering from Mojo's earlier sneak attack, Rose tries to catch her breath before picking up where she left off.

"…Rose."

"Huh?" Looking over the edge of the cage's roof, Rose meets Utonium's eye below her. "What is it, Professor?"

"The 'Tesla gloves' have an almost inexhaustible power supply. As long as Mojo keeps his distance, he'll always have the upper hand."

"'Tesla gloves'? Those things Mojo's wearing? _You_ made those?"

"Listen. You'll never get close enough to remove them or undo the circuit. But the gloves are extremely sensitive to cold; anywhere below 50 degrees Fahrenheit or so, and their energy output hits near zero. Plus, they aren't waterproof; get them wet, and the circuits will fry and burn out."

"Cold and water… Got it! Thanks!"

Mojo shortly recovers from Rose's punch and wipes away the blood from the corner of his lips.

Ready to resume the fight, the Powerpuffs surround him. Midori bares a smirk as she cracks her knuckles. "Okay, Jojo… Ready for Round 3?"

The girls float about in a circle around Mojo. One by one, they each enter and leave his field of vision. A bitter silence overtakes the two sides – the calm before the storm, as it were. The girls clearly had a numbers advantage, but Mojo's intellect was vastly superior. "…Hmph." Curling his lips into a wicked smile, Mojo suddenly drops out of the sky, allowing his body to plummet toward the water.

Without hesitation, the Powerpuffs give chase.

Just moments before touching the water, Mojo changes course, his flight ability in full effect, and soars parallel to the water's surface. Glancing behind him, he sees Rose, Aqua, and Midori on his tail, creating a scenario much like the one in the city earlier that day. With his psychokinetic powers, Mojo assaults the Powerpuffs with water projectiles.

But even as the water pelted them, the girls didn't break pursuit. It was, after all, just water.

"Heh!" Roughly a half-minute into the chase, however, Mojo begins sneaking projectiles laced with electricity in with the normal ones.

The first to be stunned by Mojo's 'electric water' was Aqua. "Aah!"

"Aqua!", Rose worriedly calls out.

"I'm okay! Keep going!"

Now wary of Mojo's tactic, Rose and Midori decide to exercise caution in the face of his assault.

To top off his attack, Mojo launches a large wave coursing with electricity at the girls.

With no feasible way to avoid it, Rose and Midori dive into the water, and the tidal wave passes overhead.

"Hah! Big mistake!", boasts Mojo. Having anticipated this course of action, he proceeds to generate as much electrical discharge from his hands as allowable. When the discharge hits the water, electricity pours out over a wide radius.

Unable to resurface due to this, Rose and Midori are forced to go deeper down.

"Hahahaha! Yes! Wallow in the depths of despair, you cretins! Know the same helplessness I felt as a Project X lab rat! Powerless to save your Professor! Powerless to save _yourselves_! Embrace that feeling and DROWN IN IT! Hahahahaha!"

All of a sudden, the surface of the water begins to ripple violently.

Puzzled by this spectacle, Mojo faces the west. His eyes go wide with shock as he stares down a tidal wave considerably greater than the one he'd generated moments ago. "W-What the devil?" He attempts to flee, but the sheer magnitude of the wave engulfs him. "AAAAHHHH!"

From where the wave originated, Aqua is seen hovering proudly, having used a 'sonic scream' to wash Mojo away.

Rose and Midori finally resurface, returning to their little sister's side, followed shortly by Mojo. The splash made by Aqua's tidal wave causes bay water to rain down upon the group. Once again, the opposing sides go deathly silent, the only sound being the soft rainfall hitting the water below.

At Mojo's sides, the Tesla gloves spark erratically and uncontrollably. The tidal wave rendered them useless.

"…Many congratulations, girls…", Mojo begins, taking quite a hateful tone. "You've succeeded in making me angry…"

"Let me guess – you're gonna turn into the Hulk now, right?", Midori jokes, making light of the situation as usual.

"I grow weary of your efforts at humor. _And_ I grow weary of this little game of ours."

"You call messing with our family and home a 'game'?", Rose snaps.

"Indeed.", Mojo bluntly replies. "And what better way to put an end to a good game than with a round of…'_sudden death_'…?" Ever slowly, the monkey mastermind raises his arm…

…prompting the girls to assume attack stances.

But it's not the girls at which Mojo points his arm. Rather, he points it toward the cage holding Professor Utonium. With his energies focused, Mojo starts to enclose his fingers.

The cage begins to rattle on a random axis. The chain links keeping it suspended gradually come undone, lessening their hold on the cage.

"…I do so hope the Professor…_knows how to swim_…"

"!"fThe final chain link unravels…and the Professor's cage falls.

"_**PROFESSOR!**_"

In mere seconds, the cage makes a deafening splash into the bay. In no time at all, it fills up with water and sinks beneath the surface, taking John Utonium with it.

Acting on pure instinct, Rose rockets off to where the cage had submerged and dives in after it.

Again, the fight was two-on-one. Aqua and Midori glare at Mojo with eyes brimming with anger. "You're gonna wish you hadn't done that!"

The unfazed Mojo laughs off Midori's threat. "Oh, I'm positively quivering, I assure you."

Under the water, the cage sinks further and further. Before long, it reaches the seafloor, joining the ranks of the once-prominent Great Oaks Bridge. Inside the cage, with his hands coiled firmly around the outer bars, Utonium struggles to hold his breath. The cage's unexpected submersion had left him with only minutes of air.

Rose appears promptly on-scene, positioning herself directly in front of him. She grips the bars tight and endeavors to bend them outward. But the redhead had a limited air supply herself, and with the water pressure on top of the bars' sheer density, this feat was beyond her. 'Dammit…!', Rose curses mentally. 'It's no good…! I'm not strong enough…!' Her eyes meet Utonium's.

'…R-Rose…' Utonium's vision blurs. Soon, he could no longer see Rose clearly. As the last air bubble escapes his lips, his eyes roll to the back of his head, and his grip on the bars loosens.

'No!' The despondent Rose continues pulling at the bars, hoping something would give. 'Come on…!' Her budding tears were evident even in this water-filled setting.

…Thankfully, she wouldn't be alone in her struggle for much longer; Midori enters stage-right to assist. Nudging Rose aside, she takes a hold of the bars and pulls. Several metallic creaks later, Midori makes an opening between the bars for Utonium to squeeze through.

Rose retrieves the Professor, and the trio returns to the surface. The drenched Powerpuff leader takes in a big relieving gasp of fresh air, and cradles the lifeless scientist in her arms. "Professor! Are you okay? Say something!"

"Come on!", Midori nudges further. "Let's get him to dry land!"

The red and green Powerpuffs handle Utonium delicately and carry him to the mainland. Midori sets him down on the ground, and Rose brings her ear to his chest. "…He's not breathing!" With her hands, Rose begins rhythmically pushing down on Utonium's chest to get his heart beating. "Please, Professor…! Don't give up…!"

Midori simply looks on with bated breath. "…"

"You can do it…!" Rose's eyes started to well up again…

…as did Midori's surprisingly. "…Please…", she solemnly whispers.

…All of a sudden… "!" …Utonium regains consciousness, leaning up with heavy gasping and violent coughing.

"Professor!", Rose exclaims, crying tears of joy and relief.

Slowly but surely, Utonium would open his eyes and be greeted by the sight of his 'daughters' leaning over him. "…Rose… Midori…"

Midori rubs away what few tears she shed. "Morning, sleepyhead."

"…Heh."

Just then, a booming sound points the group's collective attention eastward. A cloud of dust was cast over a nearby crash site.

Only Mojo could be seen clearly amongst the debris. With his feet on the ground, he bends down to pick up something: he holds up a battered and bruised Aqua by the strands of her hair.

"Aqua!"

Too weak to belt out another 'sonic scream', the petite Powerpuff whimpers in agony.

"Is this truly your limit?", asks an unimpressed Mojo. "…How disappointing."

"…" Rose rises to her feet, refusing to take her eyes off Mojo for even a moment. "…Midori."

"Yeah?"

"Take care of the Professor. …I'll finish this myself."

A cool autumn breeze blows over, and Midori could see the tenacity in Rose's expression. "…" She motions a nod, agreeing not to get in Rose's way.

Out of the corner of Mojo's eye, he notices a figure to the west. He makes eye contact with Rose, and callously tosses Aqua's body aside. "…"

Rose's scarlet eyes glint with resolve in the sunlight. "…" Her feet start to carry her forward. She walks initially, transitions into a light jog, transitions again into running, and finally she sprints toward Mojo at full speed.

"Tch!" In response, Mojo counteracts with an immense blast of psychokinetic power.

The sharpness of the blast cuts into Rose's skin at numerous angles, but she doesn't break her momentum. "_**YAH!**_" Once within reach, she takes a bountiful leap off the ground, and drives the full force of her upper body into Mojo. With the evil monkey in her clutches, Rose shoots straight ahead like a missile.

She drives Mojo into, and through, an entire building. Two buildings. Three buildings. Four. By the time she realized what she was doing, Rose had propelled herself and Mojo through a total of nine buildings. Her momentum broken, Rose drops Mojo onto the ground, completely winded.

As a result of the successive collisions, Mojo was knocked out cold.

The battle was won.

…Some time later, a police squad and ambulance are called out to the battle site. EMTs treat the group's injuries, and Mojo is thrown into a patrol car. "What should we do with him?", the chief of police inquires.

"Throw his ass into the deepest, darkest hole…", growls Midori. "…and let him rot!"

"Keep him sedated for now.", Utonium instructs. "I'll put something together that can suppress his powers, and get in touch with you later."

"Understood. …Wow. First a bunch of super-powered girls; now a super-powered monkey. Heh. Only in Townsville, right?"

A light laugh is shared, and the patrol cars and ambulance soon take their leave.

Utonium looks down at his three girls, taking a moment just to reflect on the afternoon they had, and the family of four meets in a tender embrace. Townsville's longest day had finally come to a close.

…Townsville Penitentiary. Three days later.

In a poorly lit jail cell, where the walls were lined with a soft supple material, a diminutive figure is seen sitting at a far corner, away from the cell door. The figure was dressed from neck to toe in standard prison wear, and wore an unusual helmet-shaped device. "…"

At the other side of the cell, a slot opens up underneath the door, and a tray of food slides inside. "Dinnertime.", a voice on the other side of the door says aloud. The door slot immediately closes afterward.

Reaching out its hand, the figure takes a banana off the tray, peels it, and eats it in silence.

"…_A minor hindrance… The humans may think they've bested me… But my time will come…and soon… And Rose, Aqua, Midori… You shall know my wrath most of all…_"

…Townsville Mall.

In a clothing outlet she frequented, Aqua leafs through over a dozen designer blouses. "Hmm… Ah!" When she happens upon one she liked, she poses with it in front of a mirror. "…Perfect!", she exclaims, making for the nearest checkout counter. "Excuse me! How much is this?"

"Ah. You have a good eye, miss. This is one of our most famous items. Shipped in from Tuscany just last month. Let's see… Retail price is $49.99."

"50 dollars, huh…?" Aqua peeks inside her money purse and pouts. "Aw, I don't have enough."

The clerk shows Aqua a sympathetic smile. The blond Powerpuff was a good customer; a little generosity couldn't do much harm. She rings the blouse up at 20% off. "…This'll be our little secret, okay?", says the clerk to Aqua with a wink.

Aqua's face lights up. "Really? Thank you!"

…Townsville High, football field.

The crowd is abuzz with excitement over the semi-championship game between Townsville and Anaheim. Assorted cheers and whistles engulf the air. And at the very forefront of the stands, Midori pumps her right arm passionately. "Whoo! Go, Mitch!"

"…Hike!"

The center lineman snaps the ball to the QB, and the entire offensive line charges forward. Mitch dashes down the far right end of the field and catches the QB's pass on the way to the end zone. Briefly turning his head toward the stands, he catches a glimpse of Midori, sending a confident grin her way.

Midori returns the grin in full…

…and watches as an opposing lineman tackle him to the ground. "Oof!"

"Ooh!" The sight makes Midori cringe. "Hehehe…"

…Utonium household.

At her lamp-illuminated desk, Rose flips through the pages of an algebra textbook and jots down various equations in a nearby notebook. Satisfied with the work she's completed, she closes her books and lets out a soft yawn. Rising from her seat, Rose walks over to the window and gazes out at the cityscape in the distance.

During the days that followed fthe girls' battle against Mojo Jojo, Townsville was on the road to recovery. Buildings were being repaired. Reconstruction of the Great Oaks Bridge had begun. The damage done by Mojo would soon be but a faint memory.

But Rose was still ill at ease. Where one Mojo falls, another could just as easily arise.

"…?" Rose looks to the east wall and sees the Powerpuff Siren flashing and buzzing. "…Hmph!" From her bedroom window, she takes off into the Townsville sky, shortly joined by sisters Aqua and Midori.

The thought of another danger like Mojo didn't dampen Rose's spirits though. Come what may, Townsville was their home now. And the Powerpuff Girls would gladly put their lives on the line to ensure its safety.


End file.
